X2: X-Men United (Scogue Version)
by Gamer Spice
Summary: Part 2 of my X-Men film trilogy AU. While Jean awaits the return of Logan, Scott and Rogue have begun a secret relationship. And Rogue is, slowly but surely, learning how to control her powers! But when the mansion is invaded, and Scott hasn't returned with the professor, how will our underappreciated southern belle handle this unexpected turn of events? Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Field Trip**

**Welcome to the sequel of my _X-Men_ trilogy! Like before, I'm only focusing on scenes involving Rogue and/or Scott, and sometimes Jean and Logan, and any other scene I deem worth writing. So that means I'm not doing the opening scene with Nightcrawler. Sorry! Besides, I don't think I could do it justice.**

**At first, I wasn't sure if the sequel actually took place three years after the first movie; the Wiki says it did, but both Xavier and Stryker have said Logan had left his base fifteen years prior to meeting the X-Men, so I decided to have the sequel take place a few months after the first movie. That means (to me, at least) that Rogue is now eighteen years old.**

**I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day, whether you're in a relationship or proudly single like me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain, or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way, it is an historical fact: sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute."

\- Professor Charles Xavier

* * *

"Neanderthals. We once believed that they were wiped out, by years of conflict with a much more advanced branch of humanity called Cro-Magnon man."

Ororo Munroe, also called Storm, was teaching a group of young mutants in the natural history museum for their field trip. During her lesson, one boy looked behind him to see a girl staring at him while licking her ice cream cone. He smiled at her, but she stuck her tongue out at him. He retaliated by sticking his own tongue out, which was dark blue and forked. The girl immediately turned away.

"Artie!" Ororo called to him. "Not here."

Elsewhere in the museum, Scott Summers, also called Cyclops, and Dr. Jean Grey were looking at history TVs with some more students, one boy looking at the skeleton of a saber-tooth cat. Jean noticed this and walked over to him.

"Come on, pay attention," she said, gently pulling on his wrist. Scott saw this and smiled at her. She smiled back.

Though they had broken up earlier that year, they were still close friends. Jean was awaiting the return of Logan from his trip, while Scott was in a secret relationship with one of their older students, Marie D'Ancanto, who preferred to be called Rogue (though he was allowed to call her Marie, but in private). It had to be secret, at least for now, because Rogue was afraid of the other students ridiculing or judging them. Even though she had turned eighteen before they started dating, most of her peers wouldn't understand; they would just see it as an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and a student. Right now, only Jean, Ororo, and the professor knew about it. Jean wasn't bothered by it at all, because being with Rogue made Scott happy. And for that, she was happy.

The two women even developed a friendship of their own. Rogue had once gone to Jean to ask if her relationship with her ex was okay, and the doctor had assured her that she was perfectly fine with it. Since then, the southern mutant had looked for opportunities to really get to know her, such as running errands with her like she would with Scott, chatting while helping her in the med lab, and even going to her for fashion advice for when she and Scott would sneak out of the mansion for a date. A recurring topic for both of them, besides Scott, was a certain Wolverine, and Rogue was happy that Jean returned his feelings; after all, she personally knew just how deeply Logan felt for the telepath. Soon, she trusted her enough to let her call her Marie as well.

And of course, Scott couldn't be happier that his best friend and new girlfriend got along so well.

Back in the present, Jean tried to focus on the TVs, but she suddenly heard hushed voices speaking. She turned around to look at the other visitors in the museum. None of their mouths were moving, but she was hearing their thoughts loud and clear.

And several of them were looking at her.

_Makes me insane when she does this,_ thought a worried-looking man.

_What are you looking at, you sick...?_ thought a woman glaring at Jean before she shut out her thoughts.

She heard more and more voices, all overlapping each other. Two voices, however, stood out to her.

_NO!_ That sounded like Logan's voice...

_They might take him away!_ That sounded like Rogue...

Jean shut her eyes, overwhelmed by all the voices. She was unaware that her powers were causing the TV and computer screens to go haywire, confusing the students and Scott. He saw Jean shaking her head, her hand raised near her recently cut hair.

"Jean?" he asked. "You okay?"

Her eyes snapped open, and the voices stopped. The screens also went back to normal. "Yeah." She chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, uh...just a headache."

Scott just stared at her. "It's not just a headache, is it?" When she looked away, he said, "Listen, I – I wasn't really sure how to say this... but, you know, ever since Liberty Island, you've been –"

"Scott..." She shook her head, knowing what he was going to say, but he said it anyway.

"You've been different. It's not because we broke up, is it?"

"No, of course not," she assured him, which was the truth. "My telepathy's been off lately. I can't seem to focus, I can hear _everything_."

"Jean, it's not just your telepathy," said Scott, looking genuinely worried. "A month ago, you had to concentrate just to levitate a book or a chair across the room. Now, when you have a nightmare, your entire bedroom shakes."

When they broke up, Jean had decided to move into Logan's bedroom, since she was still waiting for him to return, but there were nights where she would go to Scott, the one she trusted the most, for help when she had a nightmare. Rogue, being the angel that she was, completely understood and wasn't the least bit upset, willing to help if needed. And one late night when Scott went to Jean's room to check on her, he found her thrashing around in her bed, everything in the room violently shaking.

Reeling herself back to the present again, she shared his look of worry. "My dreams are getting worse. Scott, I keep feeling something terrible is about to happen."

Seeing her frightened look, he pulled her into a hug. "I would never let anything happen to you," he promised his best friend.

"Hey." They pulled away when Ororo walked up to them. "Have you guys seen Bobby and Rogue?"

While Scott shook his head, looking a bit worried again, Jean telepathically searched the museum. "Something's happening in the food court."

* * *

"My brother asked you a simple question," a teenager was saying.

"Why are you being such a dick?" his brother asked.

"Yeah, why are you being such a dick?"

John Allerdyce, who called himself Pyro, kept clicking his lighter, smirking. "Because I can."

Bobby Drake, also called Iceman, snickered, while Rogue was rolling her eyes.

"Can I have a light?" the second boy asked, practically forcing his question politely. John ignited his lighter, looking like he was pondering his question. Then he snapped it shut.

"Sorry. I can't help you out, pal."

"John, knock it off," said Rogue as he started laughing. She loved that she made friends with the other students, including her old roommates, Kitty Pryde and Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee, but they sometimes acted a bit too immature for her taste, especially John. Perhaps that was why she often preferred the company of the adults.

"Why don't you stop showing off?" Bobby suggested.

John raised an eyebrow. "Oh, for her?" He pointed at Rogue, which caused the other boys to look at her suggestively. "I can't help it if your girlfriend's getting excited."

"I'm not his girlfriend," she reminded him, ignoring the boys' inappropriate looks and not noticing Bobby's face fall a bit.

John rolled his eyes. "Whatever, we're just trying to have a good time."

"I think you're the only one having a good time," Bobby snorted.

The second boy then took John's lighter from him.

"Hey!" he yelled, standing up. He was stopped by the boy's brother, while he lit his cigarette. "That's real cute, man."

"What are you gonna do?" the brother sneered. The other boy exhaled smoke and smirked.

"Suddenly, you're not so tough," he mocked.

When he stuck his cigarette back in his mouth, John winked, and his cigarette suddenly burst into flame, his sleeve catching on fire as he flailed.

As people began crowding around, Bobby stood up and shot a blast of frosty air toward the boy's burning sleeve. Of course, this caused him and the other bystanders to stare at Bobby in fear.

Just then, everyone froze. While the three young mutants looked around, everyone else in the museum had frozen in place, as if time had stopped except for them.

"Bobby, what did you do?" Rogue asked quietly.

He shrugged. "I didn't do this," he said.

"No, I did."

They jumped, seeing Professor Charles Xavier wheeling towards them, looking very stern.

"And the next time you feel like showing off," he said, "don't."

They saw Ororo, Scott, and Jean standing behind him, with the rest of the students looking at the frozen people curiously. Scott looked directly at Rogue, who quickly darted her eyes towards John, then back to him, telling him that he caused a commotion, not her. Scott nodded slightly in understanding.

"_Breaking news_," said a man on a nearby TV, drawing all the mutants' attention. "_We're coming to you live from Washington, where there's been an attack in the Oval Office of the White House. Details are still coming in, but we have been informed that the president and vice president were not harmed. Sources say the attack involved one or more mutants_."

"I think it's time to leave, Professor," said Scott.

Professor Xavier nodded. "I think you're right."

They left the museum, the other people looking confused as they unfroze.

**And there's the first chapter! What do you think of my build up for Scott and Rogue's relationship? I know I said this before, but I just want to make sure I'm perfectly clear: just because Scott and Jean broke up, that doesn't mean they can't still be close friends. And I believe Jean and Rogue were friends in the original cartoon, so why shouldn't they be friends here? Of course, I think they could've at least been friends in _Evolution_ as well, but, you know... Check out my profile on the subject if you'd like, when I discussed shipping. ;)**

**I added that angel bit as an homage of sorts to Scott and Rogue's chemistry in _Evolution_. I don't know if my memory is faulty or I'm biased, but I don't remember Scott giving Jean a sweet endearment like he accidentally did for Rogue. She can deny it all she wants, but she is an angel. And I'm gonna keep referencing it throughout the saga.**

**Also, fun fact: the voice of the man on the news was David Kaye, who voiced Charles Xavier and Apocalypse in _X-Men: Evolution_! At least, I think it was in this scene; Kaye wasn't credited in the movie, and online he's listed as "TV Host".**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Logan's Return**

**And here's Chapter Two, one of my longest chapters! Here, Rogue is shown to have already begun learning how to control her powers, but I just left it "off-screen", mainly because I'm not quite creative enough to really think of how it would go. The human (and mutant) mind is complicated on its own, but Rogue's mind... (cut to Anna from _Frozen_ saying, "Yeesh!"). Besides, many others have their own versions of what Rogue's mind could actually look like, and I don't want to risk copying or "ripping off" other writers. If you have an idea, feel free to imagine it.**

**Bing-a-Ling27: Thank you so much! I don't believe you left a review for my first story, and I just want to make sure you read that one as well. Don't want anyone confused. :)**

**I also received an anonymous guest review for my first story, asking about the next chapter. Unfortunately, I can't reply, but if that person happens to stumble across this: that story is finished, and I am currently posting chapters for this one.**

**I feel like I need to address this. So far, I've gotten two requests through PM to participate in a story roleplay or co-write a story. I'd like to say, while I'm extremely flattered that y'all want my participation, I'm not interested. I'd like to put my full focus on my own stories for the time being.**

**Lastly, a random thought: I was really bugged by how Rogue's streaks often appeared more blonde than white in this movie. Anyone else?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Later that evening, Professor Xavier sat in his office with Scott, Jean, and Ororo, discussing the news report of the attack at the White House.

"My opinion?" said Scott. "Magneto's behind this."

"No, I don't think so, Scott," said Jean, who was sitting across from the professor at a chess table.

"While Erik is capable of organizing something like this from prison," said Professor Xavier, "for him it would be irrational. It would only hurt his goal of mutant prosperity."

"You mean superiority," said Scott dryly, sitting on the sofa.

Professor Xavier nodded. "You're right," he conceded. "If Erik had his way..." He trailed off.

"And of course, you know how the government will respond," said Ororo bitterly from her position by the window. "They'll reintroduce the Registration Act."

"Or worse," said the professor gravely. "The president could declare a state of emergency. Place every mutant in the country under arrest."

Ororo sat down beside Scott as they all let this sink in.

"Do you think the assassin was working alone?" Jean asked.

"Well, we'll only know that if we find him before the authorities do," said Professor Xavier. "I've been trying to track him using Cerebro, but his movements are inexplicably erratic. When I have more exact coordinates, Storm, Jean, I'll need you to take the Jet and try and pick him up. But right now, I have a quick session with Rogue."

As if on cue, there was knocking on his door. "Professor? It's me." Hearing his girlfriend's voice, Scott began smiling.

"Come in, Rogue," the professor called out.

After the incident on Liberty Island, Rogue, encouraged by Scott, had asked the professor to help her control her powers. Not only did she crave human contact, but she also didn't want to have to endure other peoples' voices and thoughts in her head for the rest of her life. Since then, they've been making slow, but sure progress. During their private sessions, they discovered that she could also potentially control the powers of other mutants she absorbed, something he deduced to being the second result of the conversion machine's radiation field, the first being her unique white hair streaks. She had Logan's healing abilities down, but was still trying to get Magneto's powers under control. Professor Xavier had also theorized that Rogue's potential control for her own powers was prevented by some mental block, likely because of her fear and insecurities. Soon enough, she was able to safely touch someone without draining them for about five seconds, but she kept pushing for longer. And she still wore her gloves; she refused to leave them off until she got full control.

Rogue slowly opened the door and entered. She saw that the professor wasn't alone. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, we've just wrapped up here," he said, smiling. He turned to the X-Men. "If you all don't mind...?"

Ororo and Jean took the hint and left. Jean smiled encouragingly at Rogue on her way out, and Scott got up and planted a kiss on the side of her head before leaving, the latter of which left her blushing. Professor Xavier just smiled warmly at her.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

They had another private session early the next day, since Professor Xavier had wanted to track down the mutant assassin as soon as possible.

"Well, Rogue," he began after the session ended, "I have to say, I'm very pleased with your progress. I have no doubt whatsoever that you'll gain full control in the near future."

Rogue beamed with pride. When she first got her powers, she feared she could never control them, and be doomed to live the rest of her life without being able to touch anyone again. But now that she found her place here in the mansion, and her hope for control realized, her spirits kept lifting up.

"Thank you," she said happily. Then she frowned. "I hope I didn't hurt you, though."

He gently waved her off. "I assure you, I will be fine. You drew your hand away at the right time." During this particular session, when he touched her bare hand, her powers didn't kick in until six seconds later this time. "And you're handling telepathy quite wonderfully."

Since Rogue had been taking more and more of his power during these sessions, she had also decided to occasionally join Jean's private sessions with him to help develop her newly acquired telepathy.

The door to his office opened, revealing Scott.

"Jean and Ororo are about to get the Jet ready," he said. "Did I interrupt – ?"

"Not at all, Scott," said Professor Xavier. "We've just finished up. Now, I'm on my way to Cerebro to find that mutant. Would you mind waiting for me here?"

"No, Professor," said Scott. He and Rogue watched as the professor wheeled out of his office. Then he turned to his girlfriend. "How did it go?"

She smiled. "He says I'm making progress. I could have control some time in the near future."

"I'm glad," he said, smiling back. "When I got to the door, I heard him say something about telepathy?"

"Oh, he was just saying that I'm handling it wonderfully now. At first, I was hearing people's thoughts nonstop before he taught me how to shut them out."

Scott nodded. "Jean had that problem, too."

"She's so understanding," Rogue practically gushed in appreciation. "I'm so glad we're friends."

"So am I," he agreed, still smiling. Then he looked curious. "Hey, have you tried to read anyone's mind yet?"

She blushed a little as she shook her head. "No. Didn't wanna invade people's privacy."

He nodded in understanding. "Well, you wanna try now, with me?"

Her eyes widened. "Are ya sure?"

"Of course," he said gently, stepping closer. "I trust you."

She took a deep breath. "Okay." She held up her gloved hands on either side of his head, like the professor and Jean had done many times, and closed her eyes. He watched her scrunch up her face a bit and groan, as if this was hurting her, but after a while, she pulled away.

"Oh, Scott," she murmured, her face bright red. "I love you, too."

Now his eyes widened behind his shades. Though they had been together for a few months, he hadn't told her that he loved her yet. He chuckled a bit nervously. "You mind if I say it out loud? I've been meaning to tell you for a while."

She nodded quickly, her face still red.

He placed one hand on her arm and lifted the other to stroke her hair. "I love you, Marie."

Her breath caught in her throat. She had, of course, told him her real name when they first became friends, but hearing the way he said it made her feel really, really good. He also like to call her his angel, which started during a lesson on a certain Shakespearean play about a king and his fair Kate.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she saw him slowly lean in, and she reluctantly leaned back.

"I – I don't wanna hurt you," she whispered. The memory of hurting David continued to haunt her to this day, and she was still in the process of gaining full control, but she was so desperate to feel Scott's touch.

He shook his head. "You won't," he whispered back.

They both slowly leaned in, their lips inches apart. Then they heard a motorcycle approaching. Rogue jerked her head away towards the sound. They recognized it as Scott's motorcycle, which meant _he_ was home.

Rogue smiled almost giddily at Scott, who chuckled again, finding her reaction adorable.

"Go on, I'll catch up," he said.

She practically ran out of the professor's office and headed for the front doors, which opened to reveal...

"Logan!" She walked right up to him and pulled him in for a hug.

"You miss me, kid?" he asked as she stepped back.

She shrugged. "Not really," she teased.

He chuckled. "Mm. How you doing?"

"I'm okay, how are you?" Now he shrugged.

"Find what you were looking for, Logan?" They turned to see Scott walking towards them.

"More or less," Logan answered nonchalantly. He tossed the keys to him. "Your bike needs gas."

Scott caught the keys. "Thanks," he said sarcastically.

Rogue just giggled, taking his arm.

Logan took note of this. "So, you two hooked up, eh?" he asked, seeing that no one else was around.

"Well, not in the way you're thinking," she said, still smiling, "but yes, we're together."

"And how's that working out?" he asked.

"If you must know, really well," said Scott happily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "But it's secret for now, only the professor, Ororo, and Jean know."

Logan nodded. "Ah." He was a little put off by just how happy Scott was acting, having mostly seen him scowling or indifferent last time he was here. If both he and Rogue were this happy, then obviously their relationship really was working.

"Look who's come back." They all turned to see Ororo descending the staircase. "Just in time."

"For what?" Logan asked.

"We need a babysitter."

He raised an eyebrow. "Babysitter?" he repeated, but she just smiled.

"Nice to see you again, Logan."

Then someone else came down the stairs. "Hi, Logan."

It was Jean. The others saw Logan's face light up, which was rare for him.

"Hi, Jean," he said back.

Ororo smirked a little. "Uh, I should go and get the Jet ready," she said before abruptly leaving.

"And we should head back to Xavier's office," said Scott, taking Rogue's gloved hand. "Welcome back, Logan."

As he led her away, she said, "Bye, Logan. I'll see you later."

"Okay," Logan called after her before turning to face Jean, who had walked up to him. He raised his eyebrows, as if to ask her a question.

"Storm and I are heading to Boston," she said. "We won't be gone long. The professor wants us to track down a mutant who attacked the president."

Logan frowned, having heard the news himself. "So it was a mutant?"

Jean smiled. "You'll be here when we get back, unless you plan on running off again?"

He shrugged. "Well, I can probably think of a few reasons to stick around."

She nodded, biting her lip. "I'll see you later, then." She planted a kiss on his cheek before leaving. Then she stopped and turned back around. "By the way, I hope you don't mind, but I...kept your bed warm while waiting for you."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Really, now? Well, I appreciate it." Truthfully, he didn't really know how to respond to that, but judging by her knowing smile, Jean probably sensed how he felt about it anyway.

* * *

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"

Rogue stood in Scott's room, watching him put his coat on over his uniform. He was about to leave with Professor Xavier to see Magneto in his prison cell. Rogue didn't trust the evil mutant to not try some way to attack them, and couldn't stop worrying.

"I can't guarantee it," he said honestly, "but I've trained for things like this nearly my whole life. It's nothing I'm not used to."

Rogue crossed her arms. "Maybe I'm not cut out to be an X-Man, then..." After the battle at Liberty Island, she had decided that she wanted to join the X-Men, but the professor told her that she was still too young, and would need much more training. She was starting to believe that she didn't have what it takes to be an X-Man, like Scott or Jean did.

Knowing what she was thinking, Scott walked up to her. "Hey, don't say that. I know you've got what it takes to be an X-Man. You just need more time." Seeing that she still looked upset, he pulled her into his arms. "Come here."

Knowing what he wanted, she froze in his arms.

"Marie," he said gently, sending chills and tingles down her body, "you won't hurt me."

She nodded slowly, then took a deep breath, trying to keep her powers under control. He leaned in, and she didn't stop him. After months of craving this kind of intimacy, their lips finally touched. And she couldn't get enough of it.

After about six seconds passed, she pulled away. "Wow..." Suddenly, she felt her eyes burn. It turned out that her powers kicked in just a little bit after her limit.

"Marie? You okay?" He stepped back when he saw her eyes glow bright red. They quickly realized that no optic blasts were coming.

"How can I control it?" she wondered aloud as the glow dimmed.

He sighed. "Because you don't have the brain damage." Some time after they first became friends, he had told her about an accident he had when he was a kid, an accident that caused some permanent damage to his brain. This was the true reason why he couldn't control his powers, something he didn't share with many people.

Rogue looked at him sadly and, without thinking, kissed him again. They kissed longer than before, and it grew more passionate. She forgot to count how many seconds she was touching him and soon, Scott began breathing heavily, and veins appeared all over his face. He pulled away, gasping.

"Oh God, Scott!" she cried, her eyes welling up in horror and shame. "I'm so sorry!"

He shook his head slightly, which began to ache. "It's okay. I'll be fine."

"But I hurt you!" Tears were streaming down her face now. If she weren't caught up in the moment, she could've recognized that rush of energy...

He pulled her into another hug. "Shh..." he soothed her as she began crying into his chest. "I'm fine, angel. You didn't do it on purpose."

"But –"

"No buts. You'll get full control someday, Marie. And I'm not giving up on you." He gave the top of her head a kiss.

Eventually, Rogue calmed down. For a while, she savored the feeling of being in his arms before they pulled apart.

"Look on the bright side," he said, smiling. "If someone attacks, you have my power to stop them."

She frowned. "Has anyone attacked the mansion?"

He shook his head. "I was just kidding. But for as long as I've been here, no. Don't worry, though, Logan will be here, and I'll be back soon."

She finally smiled back. "You promise?"

He kissed her head again. "I promise."

She walked him out to the garage and watched as he and the professor left the grounds. She couldn't fight the troubling feeling that his promise was going to be difficult to keep.

* * *

"_I'm sending the coordinates of where the mutant seems to have settled for now_," the professor's voice spoke through the speaker of the X-Jet. "_As soon as you find him, bring him back to the mansion_."

"Well, let's hope he cooperates," said Storm, looking at the coordinates Charles sent her.

"_Yes, for his sake_," he said. "_Good luck_."

Jean had been listening from her position in the pilot's seat. Wanting to exercise her powers, to make sure she was still in control of them, she let go of the handles and mentally commanded them to move accordingly. For a while, the Jet flew smoothly. Then the lights began flashing as if they were surging, and Storm quickly noticed.

"Jean!" she said sharply.

Snapping out of it, Jean turned to look at Storm, who looked pointedly at the handles. She quickly placed her hands back on them to manually fly the Jet, and the lights stopped flashing.

"What's wrong?" Storm asked in concern.

Jean shook her head. "Nothing. Really. I'm just feeling a little off."

Storm turned away, smirking knowingly. "Maybe it's just that Logan's back in town," she whispered playfully.

Hearing her, Jean turned back to her friend. "So what if it is?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy for you," Storm assured her, smiling. While she was happy for her, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. But for Jean's sake, she set aside her own feelings for Logan. "So, are you gonna ask him out?"

Blushing, Jean answered, "As soon as we bring this mutant back and get everything sorted out. Although, I'm not sure he's the type to go out on actual dates."

"We haven't even met him yet –"

"I meant Logan!" Jean said quickly, her face now matching her hair.

Chuckling, Storm said, "Jean, even I can tell he feels strongly for you. I'm sure he'd be happy to go on a date with you."

"Yeah, you're right, 'Ro," said Jean, turning her attention back to flying the Jet.

She was already imagining the delight on Rogue's face for when she asked the younger woman for fashion advice.

**And there's Chapter Two! What do you think of Scott and Rogue's relationship? And am I right in thinking that Rogue should've had plenty of opportunities to learn how to control her powers throughout the trilogy? And yes, Rogue can control Scott's powers, like in _Evolution_. His inability to control it himself is due to brain damage, something that the original cartoon didn't quite get. And it looks like she's got some control over telepathy as well, like another character Anna Paquin's famous for portraying. ;)**

**Also, I believe that, in this version, Logan and Scott would be a little bit nicer to each other, seeing as there's no love triangle between them and Jean. And I know that there were students walking around as Logan came home, but I just felt lazy and didn't include it, XD.**

**And of course, I included that little deleted scene of Jean and Storm in the Jet. In the original, when Storm teased that she was off because Logan came back, Jean said, "Yeah, maybe it is. Not!" But things are different here, obviously, since I'm letting her be open about her feelings. Plus, it further foreshadows her growing powers.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Sleepless/Magneto's Visitor**

**And here's Chapter Three! I didn't feel the need to write the scene with Jean, Ororo, and Nightcrawler, aka Kurt Wagner. Now that I brought him up, I wonder if I should include the comics' storyline of Mystique being Kurt and Rogue's mother? Like I said before, I have this whole trilogy written, but do you guys want Mystique to be their mother in this version? If not, I can try to rewrite it. If I do end up rewriting it, though, some major parts of this saga that involve Rogue, as well as serve a purpose to certain parts of the story, are gonna have to go, so keep that in mind.**

**Bing-a-Ling27: What exactly do you mean by "still on it"? Do you mean still on my previous story? Anyway, thanks for your feedback! I'm glad you like the Scogue relationship and the Scott/Logan bromance.**

**Guest: Yay! Sundays serve a purpose now! XD**

**Laura201112: Thank you so much!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Despite having the comfort of Jean's lingering presence in his bed, Logan was having the nightmares yet again. He kept seeing images of a green-lit lab, x-rays, and hearing soft clinking from dog tags.

"I need you to read my mind again,"_ he heard his own voice say from hours ago._

"I'm afraid the results will be the same as before,"_ said Professor Xavier's voice._

_But he also heard distant voices from the men in the lab._

"_He'll be indestructible..._"

"_His entire skeleton..._"

"_Adamantium_."

"Sometimes," _he heard the professor's voice again,_ "the mind needs to discover things for itself."

"_Wolverine,_" _said another man's voice clearly._

"_No memory. He'll have no memory._"

_And he was in a tub full of water again, with tubes inserted in his body. He wanted to escape. The next thing he knew, he was out, and heading for the door..._

He sat up, sweating and breathing heavily.

He really needed a drink.

* * *

Logan walked through the halls, heading for the kitchen. On his way, he heard that the TV was on.

"_A dozen tourists in the White House during the attack are still being held for questioning_," said a newscaster.

He heard it immediately change channels. He found the TV, and a little boy, simply named Jones, sat on the couch before it, wide awake. Logan watched as the channels changed every time Jones blinked his eyes behind his glasses.

"Can't sleep?" Jones asked, not turning away from the TV.

"How can you tell?" he asked him back.

Jones looked at him. "'Cause you're awake," he said simply.

Logan smirked. "Right. How about you?"

Jones went back to changing the channels. "I don't sleep."

Logan nodded slowly. After this, he headed for the kitchen, to find another student awake, eating ice cream at the island.

"Hey," he said. "You're Logan, right? My friend Rogue's talked about you. I'm Bobby, but you can call me Iceman."

"'Iceman'?" Logan raised an eyebrow. With that kind of codename, it was obvious what this boy's powers were. "Doesn't anyone sleep around here?"

Bobby shrugged. "Apparently not." He watched Logan look in the fridge.

"Got any beer?" he asked.

"This is a school," Bobby deadpanned.

Logan looked at him over his shoulder. "So that's a 'no'?"

"Yeah, that's a 'no'."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Got anything other than chocolate milk?"

Bobby pointed his spoon toward a cupboard. "There should be some soda in that small cupboard."

Logan walked over to the cupboard and picked up a bottle of soda. Walking to the kitchen island, he opened it and was about to take a sip. Feeling that it was warm, and remembering this boy's codename, he handed it to him. Bobby smirked and took the soda, blew some frosty air into it, and handed it back to Logan.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

A security guard rolled Professor Xavier's plastic and glass wheelchair inside Magneto's prison, Cyclops walking close by. When the guard left, Scott went to push the chair himself, but was stopped by another guard.

"I'll take it from here," he said.

Cyclops looked at him suspiciously through his visor.

"It's all right, Scott," the professor assured him.

"Nice shades," said the guard when Cyclops finally stepped back.

"Thanks," he said, his face stoic. He watched the guard roll Professor Xavier away.

Because of Magneto's powers, he had to be placed in a special prison, made entirely out of plastic. To enter his cell, you had to be scanned, as Professor Xavier was, for any kind of metal. If you were clean, you could safely enter. The security guard rolled him through a plastic tunnel towards Erik Lehnsherr's cell.

Erik heard the security guard roll his visitor in. "Charles Xavier. Have you come to rescue me?"

"Sorry, Erik," said Charles as the security guard left them alone. "Not today."

Erik nodded. He, of course, knew his old friend wouldn't be the one to rescue him. He was patiently waiting for Mystique to help him break himself free. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"The assassination attempt on the president," said the professor right away. "What do you know about it?"

"Nothing," said Erik, turning to look at him. "Only what I read in the papers." He smirked. "You really shouldn't have to ask, Charles."

Charles stared at him. "What's happened to you?"

"I've had frequent visitors from William Stryker," he said. "You remember him, don't you?"

Charles slowly wheeled himself towards his old friend. "William Stryker."

"His son, Jason, was once a student of yours, wasn't he?"

"Yes," said Charles quietly. "Years ago. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to help him, at least not in the way that his father wanted."

Erik stood up. "And now you think that taking in the Wolverine will make up for your failure with Stryker's son."

The professor sat back in his wheelchair, looking at him closely.

**And there's Chapter Three! I can't help but wonder why the sodas were in a cupboard. Does anyone that wants a soda just go to Iceman to have it chilled? If I actually liked soda, I still would think it's not worth it.**

**I included the scene with Charles and Erik because I felt it moved my story along nicely enough. I know I said that this story was mainly about Rogue (featuring Cyclops, Wolverine, and Jean), but I wanted to try to give the other characters some attention as well.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: The War Has Begun/The Invaders**

**And here's Chapter Four! I can't help but feel that some of the powers Rogue borrowed, including her newly acquired optic blasts, are gonna come in handy... ;). And it's perfect for International Women's Day! (Even if I'm a bit late)**

**thewriternextdoo: Yeah, that can happen sometimes. It just depends on what the original scenes give me in terms how I can adjust it to fit my AU. I did a brief check on the rest of this story, and except for maybe one, the other chapters won't be so short.**

**Laura201112: Thank you so much!**

**Bing-a-Ling27: Ah, okay. Thanks for clarifying, friend! And thanks for your feedback!**

**0001234: She kicks some ass in this chapter, and stands up to certain characters throughout the rest of the story. And she's gonna get angry a few times. I'm trying to be a bit realistic with this part of the trilogy because I'm not sure if she did any real X-Men training in this movie, but the next story...well, some of what she does in the next story scared me, lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

"How long you been here?" Logan asked Bobby after taking a swig of his now chilled soda.

"Couple years," the teenager said, turning back to his ice cream.

"And your parents just sent you off to mutant school?" He noticed Bobby hesitate.

"Actually," he said slowly, "my parents think this is a prep school."

Logan nodded. "Oh, I see. I suppose lots of prep schools have their own dorms, campuses –"

"Jets," Bobby added.

Logan almost chuckled. He decided to change the subject.

"So you and Rogue are friends, huh?" he asked. He didn't miss the faint blush on Bobby's face.

"Yeah," he said. "I've actually thought about asking her out, but when I bring it up in passing, she just says she's not interested. At first I thought she already had a boyfriend, but I haven't seen her hang out with any of the other boys."

Logan didn't answer. He knew exactly why Rogue would turn him down, but he didn't let on. He cared very much about the southern belle, so he would keep her relationship with Pretty Boy a secret like the rest of the adults.

"You know," Bobby continued, pulling Logan out of his thoughts, "I've seen how you look at Dr. Grey."

He narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Bobby said quickly, though he began smirking.

And Logan felt an odd wave of déjà vu.

* * *

"You haven't told him about his past, haven't you?" Erik accused Charles. Neither of them noticed Cyclops looking at them through a far away window.

"I've put him on the path," said Charles almost defensively. "Logan's mind is still fragile."

"Is it?" Erik raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Or are you afraid of losing one of your precious X-Men, old friend?"

Charles stared at him, looking deep into his eyes. "Erik, what have you done?" he whispered.

Erik just shook his head, actually looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, Charles. I couldn't help it."

"What have you told Stryker?" asked Charles quickly.

Erik took a deep breath. "Everything." They both saw two big holes in the glass wall expelling some kind of gas. "The war has begun," said Erik, gently leaned against another wall before falling to the floor.

"Scott!" Charles yelled, pressing his hands against the cell doors.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance!" Erik bellowed.

Soon, both men passed out from the gas.

* * *

Cyclops heard the door behind him open. He spun around to see a sharp-dressed woman enter, holding up a gun made of plastic. She shot something at him, which landed on his coat. He immediately fired an optic blast at her and the security guard. As he fought off more guards, the woman slowly stood up. She pounced on him and pinned him against the glass door, kicking him in the face and knocking him out.

_I'm sorry, Marie,_ he thought before he fully blacked out.

He couldn't keep his promise.

* * *

Jones was still watching TV, having landed on an animal channel.

"_But now and then_," said a woman's voice, "_every mother needs to get away. Without her, the babies are helpless_."

Suddenly, Jones thought he heard something. He slowly got up and looked around, leaving the TV on.

"_Sensing danger, the mother rat races home. The babies can't even see the killer. And someone uninvited is coming to dinner. She arrives too late for one baby. The centipede is deadly..._"

Jones stood in the hall and was nearly blinded by a distant flashlight. The light lowered, and he saw what looked like two SWAT men. One walked up to him.

"Hi," Jones said uncertainly.

Instead of answering, the man shot three sleeping darts at his throat, and he fell with a thud. He then directed more HYDRA soldiers to cover the mansion, looking for other mutants to capture.

* * *

In the kitchen, Logan heard footsteps. He placed his soda down and stood up.

"What is it?" Bobby asked, but Logan shushed him.

* * *

HYDRA soldiers broke into the bedrooms and shot darts at the sleeping kids. Kitty Pryde, however, woke up with a gasp and phased herself through her bed. She landed in a room with even more HYDRA soldiers, so she ran through walls and bookshelves, narrowly avoiding darts.

* * *

Logan and Bobby could faintly hear helicopters arriving. Logan cautiously stepped towards the the doorway of the kitchen while Bobby stood up to look out the windows. He didn't hear the HYDRA soldier enter the kitchen and aimed his dart gun at him. However, he was stopped by Logan, who held him firmly and said, "You picked the wrong house, bub!"

* * *

The HYDRA soldiers busted open a door to another bedroom. A girl named Theresa Cassidy immediately sat up and opened her mouth, letting out a scream so loud and shrill, it not only broke glass, but was echoed throughout the entire mansion. Everyone that hadn't been knocked out by sleeping darts were covering their ears in pain. The HYDRA soldier in Theresa's room managed to shoot a dart at her, knocking her out and ending her screams.

Thanks to the girl who called herself Siryn, everyone in the mansion was wide awake.

And Rogue, who had already been awake, immediately got up out of bed. She had heard Scott's apology thanks to Xavier's telepathy, and felt angry at whoever attacked her boyfriend. As soon as she stepped out of her room, she was met with a HYDRA soldier. Before he could shoot her, she quickly pulled his gun from his hands with Magneto's power and hit him across the face with it.

While Rogue ran through the halls to find any other soldiers to fight off, all the other students had left their rooms and began screaming in fear.

* * *

Logan, Bobby, and the HYDRA soldier had all grimaced when they heard the continuous shriek; the soldier had shot bullets all around the kitchen. Once the screams stopped, Logan went back to apprehending the soldier. He managed to push the soldier against the fridge and stuck his claws into his chest. Bobby hid behind the kitchen island, watching the soldier cry out in pain before Logan stepped away to let him fall to the floor. Breathing heavily, he turned around and saw Bobby's eyes peeking over the island. "You all right?"

Bobby nodded meekly.

After this, Logan led Bobby out of the kitchen before he went eliminating HYDRA soldiers. Bobby heard the students' screaming upstairs and quickly got in the elevator.

* * *

In Theresa's bedroom, two HYDRA soldiers picked up the sleeping girl and turned to leave when they were stopped by Piotr Rasputin, a young man with the ability to transform his entire body into pure metal. The soldiers shot at him, but the bullets just bounced off of him. Piotr, who also called himself Colossus, simply threw the soldiers through the wall and carried Theresa. As he stepped out, he and several other students saw the helicopter shine a light through the window.

"This way!" he called to them.

* * *

Bobby reached the second floor and began searching for his friends. He quickly found John and called out to him. "John! Where's Rogue?"

John shrugged helplessly. "I don't know!"

* * *

Rogue safely led two young girls to a hidden escape tunnel. They ran inside, but they stopped and turned around.

"Aren't you coming?" one of them asked.

Rogue quickly shook her head. "No, I have to find someone first," she said. Then she instructed them, "When you get to the end of the tunnel, head straight through the woods so you get to Graymalkin Lane. Then go to the first house you see and tell them you ran away from your boarding school. No matter what you do, _don't tell them you're mutants_. Do you understand?"

The girls looked scared, but they nodded.

"Okay, go!" Rogue shut the door as they ran away.

As she left to find Logan, or anyone else, she was stopped by yet another HYDRA soldier, who quickly fired a bullet that landed in her chest, narrowly missing her heart. She yelled out in pain, and two bright red optic blasts shot out of her eyes, knocking the soldier back.

The force of the blast was so strong, she was flown backwards against the wall. She quickly shut her eyes, forcing Scott's power back. Slowly opening them, she was overcome by the immense pain in her chest from the bullet that the soldier had fired at her. Shaking, she took a deep breath and used Magneto's power to force the bullet out. Holding back pained whimpers, she then quickly used Logan's healing ability. Once the wound healed, she then saw that the HYDRA soldier was slowly getting back up. She quickly snatched his gun and struck him across the face, knocking him out. Then she ran to find the others.

* * *

Several students crowded around another escape hatch, Piotr handing Theresa to a pair of students. He hit the wall with his fist, and the secret door slid open. He ushered them inside. "Go on, get in."

Logan walked around the corner, holding Jones. He handed the boy to Piotr. "Take him. He's stunned." Then he turned to run back the direction he came from.

"I can help you!" Piotr called after him.

"Help _them_," Logan ordered him. He went to take out more HYDRA soldiers as Piotr ducked into the escape hatch.

**And there's Chapter Four! That scene with Rogue and the kids was another deleted scene that I just extended. It's such a shame that pretty much all of Rogue's best scenes were cut from the films. It's almost as if Bryan Singer (and Brett Ratner) had no clue what to do with her character...**

**How do you feel about me writing her getting shot, then using Magneto's and Logan's powers to fix herself up? Was it too much, or just right? By the way, no, she didn't take the gun with her. I thought about it, but I think that she wouldn't take any of the soldiers' guns, because extra gunfire would've scared the younger students even more. She's definitely fighting the bad guys, but she's also thinking of the children, :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Out of the Past**

**And here's Chapter Five! Admittedly, Rogue doesn't kick ass in this chapter, but she does stand up for her friends at the beginning, and I changed some of her lines and added some new ones.**

**Cellorules: Thanks for your feedback! And yes, cutting her scenes from _Days of Future Past_ was probably one of Singer's worst decisions. From what I found, he cut her scenes because her role was "too self-contained".**

**0001234: I'm glad you loved it! And yay, someone wants Mystique to be Rogue and Kurt's mother in this! That means I don't have to rewrite it! By the way, for anyone that likes Doug Walker the Nostalgia Critic, he recently started doing videos where he reviews and rewatches the _X-Men_ movies, and like you said, he quickly realized that Rogue's role was pretty much Jubilee's in the cartoon. Maybe if they didn't put so much focus on Wolverine, they could've done Rogue justice (along with Cyclops, Storm, Phoenix, etc.)**

**And Happy St. Patrick's Day!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Rogue ran through the halls and heard someone call her name. She stopped in her tracks as Bobby and John ran up to her. "Bobby! This way!"

She led them around the corner, but they stopped when even more HYDRA soldiers blew open a window. They turned around and ran down the stairs. They headed for the front door, but they burst open, and they were blinded by flashlights.

Rogue bravely took a step forward, ready to defend herself and her friends. "What do you want from us?!" she demanded from the soldiers, her eyes glowing red.

Then they heard a roar. Logan jumped down from the top of the staircase, his claws out, and crushed the soldiers beneath him. Standing up, he said, "Let's go."

However, they were stopped once more by a helicopter flashing a bright light at them.

"Come on. This way." Logan led the three teenagers away from the hall, Bobby moving ahead to take them to an escape hatch.

"This is it." Bobby quickly opened it and ran inside, John and Rogue following.

Rogue, however, stopped to turn around and yell, "Logan!" just as Logan shut the door in her face.

He faced the HYDRA soldiers, drawing his claws. "You wanna shoot me? SHOOT ME!"

"Don't shoot him!" a man ordered, slowly walking around a corner. "Not yet."

Logan stilled. That voice was uncomfortably familiar...

"Wolverine?" The other soldiers' flashlights prevented Logan from seeing the surprised look on this man's face. "Well, I must admit, this is certainly the last place I'd expect to find you. How long has it been? Fifteen years? You haven't changed one bit." He stepped forward. "Me, on the other hand –" He gestured to his withered face. "– nature."

Logan slowly retracted his claws. He'd seen glimpses of this man's face in his nightmares...

* * *

Bobby and John ran down the tunnel, but Rogue stopped them. "Wait! You guys, we gotta do something. They might take him away!"

"He can handle himself!" John protested. "Let's go!"

"He's _handled himself_ for years before he met me!" Rogue shot back. "He needs to let other people help him! And the X-Men are supposed to work together! Come on, Bobby!"

Bobby wasn't sure what to do. They needed to get to safety, but the girl he had feelings for wanted to stay behind to help Logan, and he couldn't just leave her.

* * *

"I didn't realize Xavier was taking in animals," the man sneered at Logan, "even animals as unique as you."

"Who are you?" Loan demanded.

The man just smiled. "Don't you remember?" he asked him.

Logan slowly walked towards him...

A wall made of ice formed between Logan and the HYDRA soldiers.

"NO!" he shouted. "NO!"

"Logan, come on!" He turned around to see Rogue and Bobby peeking out through the escape hatchet, Bobby's hand producing ice across the wall. "Let's go!"

On the other side of the ice wall, the man placed his hand on it in awe, Logan mimicking him.

"Logan!" Bobby called out to him.

"Go!" Logan ordered them. "I'll be fine."

"Enough of that, Logan!" Rogue snapped impatiently. "You're an X-Man, and the X-Men are supposed to be a team! Come _on_!"

She was right. Even if he could handle himself, he couldn't afford to let them get hurt or even killed on their own, especially not Rogue. Finally, he headed back towards them just as the familiar man went to blow up the ice wall.

* * *

They ran through the tunnel until they reached a door that opened in the floor of the garage. They turned on the lights and quickly found a dark blue car and got in.

"I'm driving!" said John, heading for the driver's seat.

Logan just pulled him away. "Maybe next time."

Scowling, John got into the back seat with Bobby, as Rogue got in the passenger's seat and Logan got behind the wheel.

"This is Scott's car," Rogue realized just now.

Logan just smirked. "Oh, yeah?" He extended his middle claw and used it to start the car. Rogue just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

_First his motorcycle, then his girl, now his car,_ she thought to herself in amusement. _Men._

Soon, they were speeding away from the mansion.

* * *

On the road, John spoke up, "What the hell was that back there?"

No one answered for a while. Rogue stared at Logan before he said, "Stryker. His name is Stryker."

"Who is he?" Rogue asked.

Logan glared at the road. "I can't remember."

When everyone went silent, Rogue suddenly felt a wave of déjà vu. This was similar to how her first real moment with Logan went: sitting quietly in his truck as he drove, giving her the cold shoulder. Then she took something from her wrist and handed it to Logan. "Here. This is yours."

He took it, and saw that it was his dog tag. He had given it to Rogue before he left, promising her that he would come back. He smiled at her, which she returned.

Then it got quiet again.

"I don't like uncomfortable silences," said John as he reached in between Logan and Rogue to turn on the radio.

"What are you doing?" Rogue asked, moving her bare shoulder away from him.

The radio began playing N*Sync's "Bye Bye Bye" to the annoyance of everyone else. John quickly turned it off and pressed another button, which revealed a thin X-shaped emergency phone.

"I don't think that's the CD player," he joked.

Logan took the phone. "Sit back," he told John.

"Where are we going?" Bobby asked.

"Storm and Jean are in Boston," said Logan. "We'll head that way."

Bobby froze (no pun intended) hearing this. "My parents live in Boston."

"Good," said Logan.

**And there's Chapter Five! I've seen some people comment on Rogue's original line, "They're gonna kill him!", basically saying that she somehow forgot that Logan can't actually be killed, and had a healing factor. I felt the need to change that. As for the bit about how Logan can't afford to let Rogue and the others get hurt and whatnot, well, I tried my best. Basically, I'm trying to say that Rogue understands that the X-Men are meant to be a team, and that they should be working together and helping each other out. And Logan is technically a member of the X-Men, and Rogue is aspiring to join them some day as well, so she's trying to get him to stop doing everything by himself and remind him that he's got allies.**

**And just for that one second gag of Pyro playing N*Sync, let me share a highlight from CinemaSins' "Everything Wrong With X2: X-Men United In 4 Minutes Or Less":**

"**Damn, don't let Stryker know that the mutants' one weakness is N*Sync."**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: The Drake House**

**And here's Chapter Six! Here, Rogue and Bobby's friendship may be put to the test when a secret is accidentally revealed...**

**0001234: Thank you for your feedback! And of course I had to have Rogue aspire to be an X-Man! I mean, why shouldn't she? I mean, she's ON THE COVER FOR THIS MOVIE, AFTER ALL. Seriously, why did they bother putting her on the cover if they weren't doing what I'm doing for her character?**

**thewriternextdoo:**

**1) Thanks! This was quite a task for me, as I wanted to portray Rogue the way I think she could have or should have been without turning her into a Mary Sue. But really, if I could manage this, than Bryan Singer/Brett Ratner could've done it no problem.**

**2) Yeah, like I said before, pretty much all of Rogue's best scenes were cut from the films, which was a pretty dumb thing to do in my opinion. And I kinda included the scene with her, Bobby, and Pyro starting a fire three chapters later, but I changed it to fit the current situation.**

**TieDyeJackson: I'm glad you're caught up! And I'm happy that you not only like my portrayal of Rogue, but you also like my take on Scott and Logan's relationship (I still hesitate to call it 'friendship', haha)! And now that I think about it, and looking it up, I don't know for sure now if they were HYDRA soldiers... Oops! I think I went off of a few movie clips on YouTube (that were taken down) that referred to them as HYDRA soldiers, but oh well; their scenes are done anyway.**

**Hope10: Admittedly, during the scene in the Jet, when Magneto makes that crack about her hair, she gets more angry than snarky (but it's for a good reason). In the next story, however, there's a bit where, while still angry, she's HELLA snarky, but it's not all directed towards Magneto.**

**Weee: Hey, long time no see! Yeah, making Mystique their mother in this version was a bit of a challenge, but I did do the best I could. I explain more about it in a couple chapters. And yes! The X-Men are gonna be in the MCU! I really hope Rogue gets to be much more bad-ass in the future! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

The sun had come up by the time they reached Bobby's parents' house. He found the hidden key and let them all in.

"Mom? Dad?" he called out. "Ronny? Is anybody home?" No one answered. He turned to Rogue, looking over her long black nightgown and realizing how much of her skin was uncovered. "I'll find you some clothes." Then he turned to John, who was playing with his lighter again. "Don't burn anything."

Bobby then led Rogue upstairs to his old room. As he found some clothes for her, she put her two-toned hair up unto a ponytail.

"Hey," she heard Bobby say. She turned around. "I found some of my mom's old clothes. I think they're from before I was born."

Smiling, she took the clothes and checked them out. "Groovy."

Bobby quickly turned around as Rogue slipped out of her nightgown to put the new clothes on. He tried to fight this rare warm feeling he was getting from being a couple feet away from a pretty girl undressing.

A pretty girl that was his friend.

* * *

Downstairs in the kitchen, Logan tried to call someone through the emergency phone. "Hello?" But he just heard static. "Come on, Jean. Where are you?"

In the living room, John was staring at Bobby's family photos with envy.

* * *

"You can turn around."

Bobby turned around. He thought she looked great in those clothes. Then he remembered what else he'd found.

"These are my grandmother's," he said, handing her white silk gloves.

"Thanks," said Rogue, smiling again.

As she slipped them on, Bobby found himself wanting to ask her something.

"Rogue?"

"Hm?"

"Uh," he started, trying to stay cool (again, no pun intended). "I know I already brought this up with you before, but..."

Rogue, thanks to Professor Xavier's telepathy, quickly realized what he wanted to ask. It was an accident; she didn't quite have full control over it.

"Bobby, I told you," she said gently. "I like you, but just as a friend."

Not wanting to feel the pain of rejection again, as well as feeling anger rise up a bit, he demanded, "Why? You know, I used to think that you had a boyfriend, but –"

"Where did you get that idea?" she asked a little too quickly, looking defensive.

Bobby stopped his rant, staring at her. "You do, don't you?" he questioned her. "Who is it? It's not John, is it?"

"N-No!" Rogue snapped, turning away and feeling sick.

He almost let out a yell of frustration. "Why won't you tell me? You haven't even told me your real name, I thought we were friends!"

"Just STOP!" She spun around and glared at him, her eyes flashing red.

He took a step back. Slowly, he recognized the glow, then starting putting pieces together.

"That's Cyclops' power," he said quietly.

Rogue turned away again, forcing the glow to dim.

Bobby put two and two together, remembering how she referred to Cyclops as _Scott_ when they took his car. "Are you... Is _he_ your boyfriend?!"

"SHH!" she snapped, turning back around. Her eyes were welling up, but she looked almost scarily angry. "You know, this is why I wanted to keep it secret. Everyone would just take it the wrong way, even though I'm eighteen. No one else would understand!"

"No one _else_?" Bobby repeated in further disbelief. "Let me guess – Logan knows?"

"And the other teachers," she grumbled. "They're fine with it, so why can't you be?" Then she yelled, albeit a bit irrationally, "Why can't you accept that he makes me happy?!"

Without waiting for an answer, she pushed past him and walked out of his room to sit on the stairs, leaving him obviously flabbergasted.

On the stairs, Rogue wanted to cry. Her secret was out. She just knew that when all this was over, the other students would ridicule her and Scott, and she was not sure if she could handle it. She wanted to find him, hug him, and never let go. She unconsciously began blindly reaching out with her borrowed telepathy...

* * *

In the X-Jet, Storm tried to contact the mansion, but got no results. "Nobody's responding. I can't get a signal."

"Why don't you take a break? I'll keep trying," Jean offered.

Storm nodded and went to the back of the Jet, where Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler, was sitting. It turned out that he had been mind-controlled to assassinate the president. As himself, he was actually a kind man who put his full trust in God. Both women quickly looked past his appearance, a blue devilish creature, to see the gentle soul he truly was.

As Storm talked to him, Jean tried contacting the mansion, the professor, anyone. However, she got nothing. Then she felt someone in distress. She mentally reached out to that person, and was surprised to find who it was.

_Marie?_ she asked in her mind.

_Jean? How...how are you talking to me?_ she heard the younger woman ask.

_You reached out to me with telepathy,_ Jean explained. _Is everything all right, honey?_

_Um, actually, no,_ said Rogue, her shock replaced with urgency. _Men invaded the mansion and attacked us!_

_What?!_ Jean mentally gasped. _Are you okay?_

_I'm fine,_ said Rogue shakily. _We got some other students out safely, and me, Bobby, John, and Logan are at Bobby's parents' house in Boston. Logan found an emergency phone in Scott's car, and he's been trying to contact someone._

_Okay, we're not too far away from Boston. I'll call him, and then we'll come get you._

While Jean began calling the emergency phone Logan had, she felt immensely relieved that he was okay, along with Rogue and the others, of course. But what about Charles and Scott?

"Storm," she called out, "I got a contact."

**And there's Chapter Six! Bobby knows Rogue's secret! How will their friendship survive this?**

**Also, you might be wondering why Rogue is crying about Scott, and might want to call me out on trying to make her more bad-ass while writing something like that (in other words, why I write her acting tougher one moment and then having her beg for Scott, a _man_, to be with her in another). Well, I'm doing this because, while I think Rogue should be much tougher than she was in the original movies, she's still young here. This is clearly her first, albeit unofficial, mission, so she's not quite sure how to feel about it, not to mention her fight with Bobby has her quite a bit frazzled. And Scott's one of the few people she trusts, as well as her boyfriend whom she felt earlier was attacked, so it's okay for her to miss him and want him back. But it does NOT make her weak.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Dangerous Mutants/Air Attack**

**And here's Chapter Seven! I skipped Bobby's "coming out" scene, because it makes me feel really uncomfortable. But like before, just because I'm skipping it doesn't mean it didn't happen.**

**Also, I'm so glad April Fool's Day is tomorrow and not today (or at least in my timezone). Personally, I'm not a big fan of the holiday, and I wouldn't have wanted you guys to think this was a joke chapter (which, thank God, it's not).**

**Cellorules: I wish all the chapters were longer, too. However, like I said before, it all depends on what the original scenes give me, and the ideas that pop out of my head to change them accordingly. But thank you for your feedback!**

**0001234: I'm so glad you understand! And don't worry, Bobby and Rogue's friendship won't be lost! It'll be a short while before we see them patch things up, but they'll be fine.**

**thewriternextdoo:**

**1) Thank you for your feedback! Like I told Cellorules above, the length of the chapters depend on what the original scenes give me, and what ideas spring out. That's why I try to combine scenes, but it doesn't always mean longer chapters.**

**2) Yes, Rogue and Kitty did become good friends in _Evo_, what with them being roommates and all. Unfortunately, I didn't find too many opportunities in the next story to suggest that they're friends in this version, but I left a couple hints. It was really hard to focus on developing most of the side characters when I put Rogue's character first. Let's just say that Rogue is definitely supportive of Bobby and Kitty's relationship.**

**Weeee: First of all, I realized that I spelled your name wrong last chapter, so sorry about that! Second, thank you so much! Knowing that people are actually looking forward to new chapters makes me feel rather giddy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

"No one's left, Jean. Soldiers came," Logan told Jean on the emergency phone.

"_What about some of the children?_" Storm asked at once.

"Some of them escaped," said Logan. "I'm not sure about the rest."

"_We haven't been able to reach the professor or Scott, either,_" said Jean. "_We're coming, Logan._"

"Wait, we're –" Logan tried to tell her where they were when Jean interrupted him.

"_Rogue managed to contact me,_" she said. "_She told me where you are. We're on our way._"

Logan, getting over his confusion, quickly said, "Make it fast," for he was sensing trouble.

* * *

Though Storm and Jean arrived as quickly as they could, policemen had tried to arrest them. Bobby's brother had called them out of fear, saying that the mutants were holding the Drake family hostage. Though Logan, Rogue, and Bobby were willing to comply with the cops, John had opened fire – literally. With one little flame from his lighter, he blasted cops away and set their cars ablaze. Rogue, acting fast, took some of his power to put the fires out. When the X-Jet finally landed, John shot a look of disgust at her. Bobby, however, was heartbroken. His family was afraid of him. From the way they stared after him as they ran to the Jet, they did not want to see him ever again.

When they arrived on the Jet, they were quite surprised to see that Jean and Storm weren't alone.

"_Guten tag_," the blue man with yellow eyes greeted them, gently waving a three-fingered hand.

Though the others were shocked by his appearance, Rogue couldn't shake off the feeling that she should know this man.

"Who the hell is this?" Logan asked as they strapped in.

"Kurt Wagner," he introduced himself. "But in the Munich circus, I was known as 'the Incredible Nightcrawler' –"

"Yeah, save it," Logan cut him off, causing Kurt to look down. "Storm?"

"We're outta here," she announced.

* * *

When they were high up in the air, they had unfastened their seat belts. Logan got up to stand beside Jean's chair. "How far are we?"

"We're actually coming up to the mansion now," said Jean. She shared a long glance with Logan. She was so glad that he was all right, and she could sense he felt the same. They shared a quick kiss.

"I've got two signals approaching," said Storm suddenly, interrupting their moment. "Coming in fast."

"_Unidentified aircraft_," said a woman's voice on their radio, "_you are ordered to descend to 20,000 feet. Return with our escort to Hanscom Air Force Base. You have 10 seconds to comply_."

"Wow," Storm noted. "Somebody's angry."

"I wonder why," said Logan, glaring at John.

"_We are coming up alongside you to escort you to Hanscom Air Force Base_," the woman's voice ordered. "_Lower your altitude now_."

They looked through the windows to see two smaller fighter planes on either side of the X-Jet. One pilot, presumably the woman speaking to them, glared at them, firmly pointing her finger downwards.

"_Repeat, lower your altitude to 20,000 feet_," she said. "_This is your last warning_."

Eventually, the aircrafts pulled back.

"They're falling back," Storm observed. Then they heard beeping. "They're marking us."

"What?" Logan asked.

"They're gonna fire," said Storm. "Hang on!"

Logan quickly got back into his seat, and everyone hurried to fasten their seat belts. However, as the Jet sped up, Logan was knocked around before he scrambled to his seat. Kurt silently crossed himself, and Rogue was hurriedly trying to fasten hers, but found it had broken.

"I gotta shake 'em," said Storm. She spun the Jet into a loop.

When the Jet steadied, most of the passengers were feeling a bit queasy.

"Please don't do that again," mumbled John.

"I agree," Logan grunted. "Don't we have any weapons in this heap?"

Instead of answering him, Storm's eyes glowed white, and they could all see the sky instantly darken. Tornadoes came down, trying to catch the planes. One of the pilots fired two missiles at the Jet before ejecting themselves out of their plane. All the while, Jean and Storm swerved through the tornadoes.

Soon, Storm exhausted her energy, and the sky returned to normal.

"Everybody okay back there?" Jean asked behind her.

"No," said Logan dryly.

Then the radio alerted them of the missiles.

"Oh, my God," said Storm in a panic. "There's two of them."

Jean focused her powers on the missiles, her eyes slowly growing a fiery red. One missile began spinning out of control before it exploded. Logan looked at Jean in awe as she calmed down.

"There's one more," said Storm. "Jean..."

Jean tried to eliminate the other missile, but she had exhausted her energy. "Oh, God!"

She just barely forced the missile to move out of the way. The Jet still took damage; a large hole was left in the back, and Rogue, who could barely hold onto the arm rests of her seat, was sucked out through the hole.

"ROGUE!" Bobby screamed as the Jet began to descend. No, he couldn't lose her! It didn't matter that she was secretly dating one of their teachers, he couldn't lose his friend!

"No!" Logan shouted in equal despair. He saw Jean looking at the hole, highly distressed as well.

Kurt quickly saw where Rogue was flailing and teleported out of the Jet. He instantly appeared right above her, grabbed onto her, and teleported them back into the Jet. Everyone else sighed in relief as they landed right in between Jean and Storm's seats. While they tried to steady the Jet, Rogue held onto Kurt tightly, whimpering, "Scott..." into his ear. Though he was confused, he kept his hold on her. Something was telling him that this girl was important to him, but he wasn't sure why.

When Storm's attempts to steady the Jet seemed futile, everyone else closed their eyes, waiting for the crash. Then they heard some static and metal moving around. They looked back to see the giant hole close itself up, and felt the Jet fall more gracefully.

"Jean?!" Storm shouted.

"It's not me!" Jean yelled.

Then the Jet abruptly stopped in mid air, several feet above the ground. They looked through the windshield to see Magneto holding his hand up, Mystique standing beside him.

Because Magneto had been held prisoner in that plastic cell, Mystique had to be clever in helping him escape. She caught one of his guards at a bar and, disguised as a beautiful blonde woman named Grace, seduced him. After she put sleepers in his beer and he passed out, she pumped his blood full of iron. And when he returned to Magneto's cell, the evil mutant painfully extracted the bloody puffs of iron, turning them into iron balls, and used them to escape.

"When will these people learn how to fly?" Magneto asked. He and Mystique smirked at each other.

**And there's Chapter Seven! Yes, thanks to two reviewers, I'm having Kurt, Rogue, and Mystique be family, so stay tuned for that! The way I explain it next chapter might not make much sense, but I did the best I could! Also, according to the _X-Men_ movie Wiki, Anna Paquin (Rogue) did the stunt for when Rogue was sucked out of the Jet rather than have a double. If that's true, then good for Paquin!**

**Seeing how Logan reacted to the Jet jerking around, I can't help but remember how in _Rise of the Guardians_, Bunny (voiced by Hugh Jackman) didn't take lightly to riding in the sleigh at first. Coincidence? XD**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Stryker's Plan**

**And here's Chapter Eight! Before we get into the actual chapter, I'd like to share my thoughts on how Mystique could be Rogue and Kurt's mother:**

**I know I said in the beginning that I was ignoring anything from the prequel films, but even I can't deny that there were some things that could tie in with the original trilogy. For example, _First Class_ revealed that Mystique's aging process is decelerated, meaning she can stay biologically young for a long time. With this in mind, I believe that she had Kurt in the 60's or 70's, then adopted Rogue years later (they could have met when Kurt was a child and Rogue was a toddler, perhaps; more on that at the end) before she ended up living with the D'Ancantos and Kurt went back to Germany, both somehow forgetting about their mother. After all, in _Evolution_, there's a mutant called Mastermind that can alter memories, which he'd done to Scarlet Witch, so maybe something similar happened in this case? I know, it probably doesn't make sense, but I tried! It was difficult because the prequel films seemed to confuse the ages of the characters.**

**0001234: Cool! Good to know that bit of trivia is true! And thanks!**

**Laura201112: Thank you for your feedback!**

**thewriternextdoo: True, we never do find out exactly how Bobby's parents felt, but that was how Bobby took it (and how I took it). I'm glad that you like Rogue and Jean being friends, 'cause I like the idea of them being close (however close you want to imagine). And yes, Scott was a big part of their so-called rivalry in _Evo_, but it was also because Rogue disliked how perfect and popular she was. It wasn't until she used her powers on her in _Power Surge_ that she truly understood her (at least, that's how I see it). And oh boy, when we get to THAT part of the story... Well, Rogue does have a bit of a bigger part in that scene.**

**Hope10: Sadly, not this time around (unless you wanna count her flying the Jet), but you'll get to see her fly (and demonstrate some enhanced strength) in the opening of the next story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Later that night, the mutants had set up camp. Kurt sat on the grass a few feet away from where Logan, Jean, and Ororo were talking with Magneto and Mystique. Rogue, now wearing a navy blue X jacket, walked over and sat next to him.

"Thank you," she said, smiling a little.

He smiled back. "_Bitte schön_," he said.

A few months ago, Rogue couldn't speak German, but thanks to Magneto's psyche, she understood that he was saying, 'you're welcome'. They both watched the older mutants.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" she asked him.

He smiled a bit mischievously. "I could take a closer look."

* * *

"His name is Colonel William Stryker," Magneto informed the X-Men over the campfire, "and he invaded your mansion for one purpose: he wanted Cerebro. Or enough of it to build one of his own."

Jean frowned. "But that doesn't make any sense. Stryker would need the professor to operate it."

"Which I think is the only reason why our friend's still alive," said Magneto.

"Oh, my God," whispered Ororo, the realization dawning on her.

Logan looked at the two women's horrified faces. "Now, what are you all so afraid of?" he asked.

"While Cerebro is working," said Magneto, "Charles' mind is connected to every living person on the planet. If he were forced to concentrate hard enough on a particular group, let's say, mutants, for example – he could kill us all."

"Wait a minute," Ororo spoke up, narrowing her eyes at Magneto. "How would Stryker even know where to find Cerebro in the first place?"

To the X-Men's surprise, Magneto actually looked a bit guilty. "Because I told him. I helped Charles build it, remember? Mr. Stryker has powerful methods of persuasion. Even against a mutant as strong as Charles."

Jean sighed, shaking her head. "So who's this Stryker, anyway?"

"He's a military scientist," Magneto explained. "He spent his whole life trying to solve the 'mutant problem'. If you want a more intimate perspective, why don't you ask Wolverine?"

Jean looked at Logan, who had a distant look in his eyes.

"You don't remember, do you?" Magneto questioned him. "William Stryker, the only other man I know who can manipulate adamantium. The metal on your bones. It carries his signature."

Logan closed his eyes. "But the professor –"

"The professor trusted you were smart enough to discover this on your own," interrupted Magneto, smirking. "He gives you more credit than I do."

"Why do you need us?" Ororo asked suspiciously.

Magneto looked up at Mystique, who had been standing obediently beside him, not saying a word. "Mystique has discovered plans of a base that Stryker's been operating out of for decades."

As Magneto talked, Mystique stared deeply into Logan's eyes, which creeped him out.

"We know that's where he's building the second Cerebro," Magneto continued. "But, we don't know where this base is, and I believe one of you might."

"The professor already tried," Logan growled.

"Once again, you think it's all about you," Magneto sneered. Then he looked above himself, causing Mystique and the X-Men to do the same.

Kurt was dangling upside down on a branch, clearly having heard their conversation. "Oh...hello." He waved innocently.

About a minute later, he was sitting on a tree trunk by the fire, with Jean kneeling before him.

"I didn't mean to snoop," he said apologetically.

"Just try and relax," said Jean softly.

She held up her hands on either side of his head and closed her eyes. Within seconds, she caught glimpses of Kurt's memories of Stryker's base. When she heard voices quickly overlapping one another, she jerked away, leaving Kurt and herself gasping.

"I'm sorry," she said. Logan and Ororo looked at her in concern, but she just said, "Stryker's at Alkali Lake."

Logan's eyes widened. "That's where the professor sent me. There's nothing left."

Jean shook her head. "There's nothing left on the surface, Logan. The base is underground."

* * *

After the revelation of Stryker's base, the X-Men went to repair the X-Jet. Well, Jean and Ororo checked the Jet, and Logan just lit a cigar. Jean walked down the ramp of the Jet to see Logan smoking his cigar just outside. "Hey."

"Hey," he said back.

"You okay?" she asked.

He blew out a puff of smoke. "Yeah."

"You sure?"

"How we doing?" he asked abruptly, turning to look at her.

Jean looked over her shoulder at the inside of the Jet and sighed. "Not good. It'll take four or five hours before I can get it off the ground."

"That's not what I meant." Logan took a step towards her.

She looked down. "Well, I'm worried about Scott," she admitted.

"I'm worried about _you_," said Logan seriously. "That was some display of power up there."

For some reason, she looked upset. "Obviously, it wasn't enough."

"Hey, hey," he said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. All right?"

Jean took a while to gather her thoughts. "I still care about him. When we broke up, I was a little worried about what would happen between us. He's happy with Marie, the happiest I've ever seen him, but he's still my best friend."

"What attracted you to him in the first place?" he couldn't help asking.

She smiled. "He was – is, a good guy. Most girls usually go for the good guy, you know, instead of the dangerous guy."

"I could be the good guy, if that's what you want," he offered.

She smirked a little. "Logan, the good guy sticks around."

Instead of responding to that, Logan pulled her in for a kiss. She kissed him back, and they held onto each other almost desperately.

After what seemed like forever, they broke apart. He then said, "You didn't answer my question."

Jean remembered his question. Blushing, she said, "I was gonna ask you out when 'Ro and I got back from Boston. But then all this happened, and..."

He rubbed her shoulders. "Once all this is over, we can go out. Nothing too fancy, though. Hell, maybe we can sneak Scott and Rogue out and we can double date."

She nodded, smiling widely. "I'm sure they'd love that." Suddenly feeling shy, she tilted her head towards the Jet. "I should check on the Jet." She started heading back inside the Jet, likely to talk to Ororo. Then she added sweetly, "I'm really glad you came back, Logan."

He stared after her, a rare smile on his face.

Unbeknownst to him, Mystique had been watching them both closely.

"Excuse me."

She turned to her left to see Kurt. She immediately recognized him, but said nothing.

"They say you can imitate anybody," he said curiously, "even their voice."

"Even their voice," she confirmed, in his voice.

He took a step closer. "They why not stay in disguise all the time?" he asked. "You know, look like everyone else."

"Because we shouldn't have to," Mystique said simply, walking away.

Kurt just stood there, thinking. Like with Rogue, he couldn't help wondering why something was telling him that he should know this mysterious woman.

**And there's Chapter Eight! Wouldn't a double date with the main couples be adorable? Unfortunately, we all know how this movie ends...**

**Some more notes about Mystique being Rogue and Kurt's mother:**

**Even if we don't get to see her, maybe Mystique knows Destiny in this version, too. Maybe Rogue's birth family either passed away or gave her up for adoption, and Destiny had a vision of what her mutation would be, and Mystique thought that she would be beneficial to Magneto for the conversion machine. So I think she adopted her before anyone else could, but she didn't want to get too attached, so she soon left her with the D'Ancantos, keeping an eye on her for a while. I mean, these people are evil and clever, so they had to plan everything out. Was it really a coincidence that Rogue ran away and met Logan, right before Sabertooth ambushed them?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: What Do You Want?**

**And here's Chapter Nine! So obviously, this chapter involves Mystique seducing Logan. At some point, I realized that I wrote a huge contradiction regarding how Logan should have been able to sense that 'Jean' was actually Mystique. Yeah, in the movie, it seemed that only the scars gave it away, but apparently, in the junior novelization, he DID immediately know it was her – he just played along for a bit. So, yeah, I don't know. Maybe his feelings for Jean prevented him from realizing it sooner? How did CinemaSins put it:**

"**Wolverine can smell that it was Mystique in the first movie, but his p**** overwhelms his nose in the sequel and it's only the scars that give it away." (I had a feeling that if I didn't censor this quote, this story would've had to be M-rated, lol)**

**I guess in this version, we could forgive him for not being suspicious at first, since he and Jean are somewhat together.**

**thewriternextdoo: Thanks! Also, I rewatched all the scenes with Rogue after this, and I'm pretty sure her pants didn't change color. I looked as closely as I could, but they appeared to be the same. Maybe there was some lighting that brightened them up?**

**0001234: Yay, someone likes that idea! Man, poor Rogue. When she finds out the truth, she's not gonna be happy...**

**Laura201112: Thank you for your feedback!**

**By the way, did anyone see the teaser for _Star Wars Episode IX_? I'm excited!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Bobby set up another tent before walking back over to Rogue, who was trying to start up a fire. John was refusing to help, but she didn't need his help anyway; she still had a bit of his power, after all. Once she saw that the fire was all set up, Rogue immediately stood up and walked away from the campsite. Bobby sighed and followed her.

"Hey," he said, stopping her. "Look, I'm sorry." When she said nothing, he continued, "If you think I'm going to blab about your...relationship, you're wrong. I still care about you, and you're still my friend. I'm not going to ruin that."

She finally turned around. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Bobby bravely stepped closer to her. "When you got sucked out of the Jet, I almost lost it. And if it weren't for that Nightcrawler guy, I'd be furious with myself, because our last conversation was a fight."

She smiled at him sadly. "I'm sorry, too. And that thing with your parents, after our fight... You didn't need that." She threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

She had sat beside Bobby when he tried explaining to his family that he was a mutant. Their friendship was a bit strained after their argument, but she wasn't going to throw that away, especially not after his family cut him off for good.

Over his shoulder, Rogue saw Mystique sneaking towards Logan's tent, shape-shifting into Jean.

"Oh, no," she said.

Bobby let go of her and turned around. "What?" he asked.

"That Mystique lady," she said, narrowing her eyes. "She just went into Logan's tent." She began walking back into camp.

Bobby was a bit confused, but decided not to get involved. After what happened at his parents' house, he knew Rogue could handle herself.

* * *

Logan reclined on his sleeping bag, looking over the markings on his dog tag. He jumped slightly when he heard his tent zip open. He relaxed when he saw that it was only Jean. Without saying anything, she laid on top of him and kissed him. In their passionate embrace, he began rubbing her skin under her shirt. When he felt scars on her abdomen, he immediately stopped. He knew for a fact that Jean didn't have those scars...

Feeling him hesitate, 'Jean' just smiled. "No one's ever left a scar quite like you," she said softly, shifting back into Mystique.

"What do you want, an apology?"

When they battled in the Statue of Liberty, she had tried to sneak up on him, disguised as Storm. Of course, he could still sense who she truly was; changing her appearance didn't mask her scent.

And he was furious with himself for not immediately sensing who she truly was when she entered his tent.

She leaned down. "You know what I want," she whispered seductively in his ear. She licked and bit at his ear, but he jerked her away. "But what do _you_ want?" she asked in a teasing manner. Still on top of him, she shifted into Ororo, keeping that seductive smirk. Then she shifted into Rogue.

This caused Logan to snap out of it. No matter how beautiful Rogue was, and even though she was eighteen, she was still too young for him. If anything, she was like a daughter or little sister to him.

Plus, she was with Scott. And he made her happy.

When Mystique shifted back into Jean, he pushed her off of him, forcing her to shift back to herself. She sat back, watching him intently.

"What do you _really_ want?" she asked, shifting into Stryker.

Logan just glared at her. "I want you to get out," he said gruffly. He watched her shift back and quickly slip out of his tent. "Jesus..."

Outside of his tent, Mystique attempted to sneak away when she was stopped by someone.

"What were you doing in there?" Rogue was standing there, her bare hands on her hips.

"None of your concern, darling," she said sweetly.

Rogue looked angry. "When my friends are involved, it _is_ of my concern. Is he hurt?"

Mystique just smiled. "He's just fine. You could go in there and see for yourself if you like. But if you'll excuse me..."

Before she could leave, Rogue grabbed onto her arm. She had already taken off her gloves, so now she was taking Mystique's power and memories. Crying out, the shape-shifter collapsed onto the grass while Rogue staggered.

The memories she caught left her speechless. After collecting herself, she stared down at the woman in awe, which was slowly turning into fury. But Mystique said nothing, getting up to leave her. Rogue wanted to go after her, but she didn't know what she could say to her. Instead, she went to find Kurt. She could only imagine his own shocked reaction.

**And there's Chapter Nine! I wonder why they didn't address the family connection between Mystique, Rogue, and Nightcrawler in the movies. I did, however, see Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) play around with it in the blooper reel for _X-Men: Apocalypse_, telling Nicholas Hoult (Beast) that Kurt was her illegitimate son from Azazel. I wonder if it'll be discussed in _Dark Phoenix_?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: The Mutant Inside**

**And here's Chapter Ten! Rogue's not very happy with what she learned from Mystique's memories, as you'll quickly notice.**

**And Happy Easter Sunday! If you haven't, you should check out _Rise of the Guardians_, which I mentioned a few chapters ago. It's one of DreamWorks' most underrated movies, and has Hugh Jackman as the voice of the Easter Bunny! What more do you need? And also Chris Pine as the voice of Jack Frost (I mention this because both the character and the actor each have a large fanbase).**

**0001234: Thanks! I know, after _The Last Jedi_ (which I wasn't too bothered by), we all deserve to be a bit skeptical. But J.J. Abrams is returning to direct, so that should be a good sign, right? And yes, Lando is back! I'm anxious to see how Leia will be involved this time around; they're gonna use never-before-seen footage of Carrie Fisher from both _The Force Awakens_ and _The Last Jedi_.**

**thewriternextdoo: Thanks! Yes, even in the original version, Rogue should've comforted Bobby after the tussle at his parents' house. I mean, wasn't she supposed to be his girlfriend? It's kinda sad that Rogue can only comfort him when she's just his friend (aka, when I write her character). I guess it's a sign that they weren't a great couple to begin with, but that's just me.**

**Bing-a-Ling27: Thanks! Unfortunately, since the X-Men are going on a mission, and Wolverine sets off on his own, we won't be seeing couple moments for a while. But we will see Scott again soon!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

The next morning, the mutants took the Jet to Alkali Lake. While up in the air, Bobby and Rogue stood together admiring uniforms on display.

"Why don't we get uniforms?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, where's ours?" Bobby agreed. Both he and Rogue were still wearing the blue X jackets, but John hadn't bothered with one for himself.

"They're on order," answered Wolverine, zipping up his own. "Should arrive in a few years."

Rogue heard chuckling, so she turned around to glare at Magneto and Mystique.

"We love what you've done with your hair," said Magneto cheekily.

Gritting her teeth, Rogue practically ripped off her gloves and ran at them.

"Hey, hey!" Bobby stopped her. "Come on. Let's go."

"No, if they've got something to say, let's hear it!" Rogue snapped. After learning the truth from Mystique's memories, she was very angry with the shape-shifter. And of course, she was still pissed at Magneto, his blatant crack at her hair taunting her breaking point.

Everyone tensed when they saw her eyes glow bright red.

"Rogue!" Bobby pulled her to the side. "They just want to get a rise out of you. And the Jet already got damaged once."

Still seething, Rogue reluctantly calmed down and let Bobby lead her away. She sent one last glare at Mystique, who silently laughed, and her inner Logan briefly took over to give the middle finger before she went with Bobby. She missed the shape-shifter rolling her eyes.

John, who was fiddling with his lighter once again, snuck a glance at Magneto. "So," he said, "they say you're the bad guy."

Magneto slowly turned his head. "Is that what they say?"

John just nodded. He looked at his helmet, which he had placed beside him.

"That's a dorky-looking helmet," he noted. "What's it for?"

This time, both Magneto and Mystique looked at him.

"This 'dorky-looking' helmet is the only thing that's gonna protect me from the _real_ bad guys," said Magneto. He held up his hand and John's lighter, which had a small flame lit, flew over to him. "What's your name?"

"John," the young man said a bit nervously, keeping his eye on his lighter. Magneto looked at him again.

"What's your _real_ name, John?" he asked him.

John realized what he meant. "Pyro," he answered, pulling the flame into his hand.

Magneto watched the flame in admiration. "Quite a talent you have there, Pyro."

"I can only manipulate the fire," said John bitterly, putting out the flame. "I can't create it."

But Magneto shook his head. "You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different." He closed the lighter and handed it back to him, without using his powers.

* * *

While this was going on, Rogue had been quietly ranting to Bobby.

"Who do they think they are, mocking my hair when they're responsible for the way it is now?" she griped.

"I thought you liked it like this," said Bobby, frowning. He, like many others at the mansion, liked the white streaks in her hair.

"I _love_ my hair, Bobby," she snapped. "But these people are evil, and good-for-nothing liars."

Bobby just stared at her. "Did something happen between you and Mystique last night?"

Rogue sighed. "Bobby...she's my mother."

Bobby sat back, his eyes wide.

"She's also Kurt's mother," she went on. "Technically, she adopted me, but she didn't want to get too attached, so she left me with the D'Ancantos, my _real_ parents. Before my powers came, they loved me like parents should. And what did Mystique do? Use your appearance to drive me away so I could fall into Magneto's hands! Mother of the Year right there!"

Not only were her eyes glowing again, but the whole Jet was shaking. Jean and Wolverine quickly saw that she was responsible, and the latter ran over to her.

"Hey, kid!" he said, grasping her shoulders. "Calm down, will ya? Or do you want a repeat of our last joyride?"

Realizing what she was doing, Rogue took a deep breath, and her eyes stopped glowing while the Jet steadied.

"What the hell was that?" Wolverine demanded, though he looked concerned.

Rogue shook her head. She was oddly calm now. "Just letting my frustration out, Logan. On the bright side, it looks like I'm getting Magneto's powers under control now."

And she got up to move to a seat closer to Kurt's, leaving Bobby and Wolverine bewildered. They watched as they whispered something to each other before Kurt began rubbing her shoulders, while briefly staring at Mystique.

* * *

(AN: for this scene, imagine that Rogue and Pyro swapped seats; Rogue is now behind/next to Nightcrawler)

Eventually, the Jet was landed on Alkali Lake. The mutants stayed inside to come up with a plan.

"All right, this is a topographic map of the dam," Storm told everyone else, gesturing to said map. "This is the spillway. You see these density changes in the terrain? They're tire tracks."

"That's the entrance," Wolverine pointed out as Storm changed the images accordingly.

"Mm-hmm," she agreed. "And this shows the depth of the ice that's covering the ground. Now, this is recent water activity."

"If we go in there, Stryker could flood the spillway," said Jean.

"Can you teleport inside?" Storm asked Nightcrawler, who shook his head.

"No," he said. "I have to be able to see where I'm going, otherwise I could wind up inside a wall."

Mystique, who was standing behind Magneto, watched Rogue give Nightcrawler a concerned look. She knew that the younger woman told him all about what she discovered, and that they got a bit closer. Good for them, but she had no time for her children anymore.

Wolverine just stood there, listening and thinking. "I'll go," he then said. "I have a hunch he'll want me alive."

"Wolverine," said Magneto sharply, walking through the map towards him, "whoever goes into the dam needs to be able to operate the spillway mechanism." He smirked. "What do you intend to do? Scratch it with your claws?"

Wolverine glared at him. "I'll take my chances."

Magneto stopped smirking, looking serious. "But I won't." He turned to face Mystique, and the X-Men immediately knew what he planned to do.

* * *

"_I'm in_," Mystique's voice spoke through the com link.

Wolverine looked impressed. "She's good," he said.

Magneto stood beside him. "You have no idea."

Mystique had entered the dam disguised as Logan, calling for Stryker. Once she was apprehended, Stryker quickly realized that she was fooling them and ordered his men to open fire, but she was too quick for them. Now she was in the control room.

Phase One of their plan was complete.

**And there's Chapter Ten! Looks like Rogue's getting other mutants' powers under control. Don't worry, soon she'll have her own powers under full control, too.**

**Also, I'm still not entirely sure whether or not Mr. and Mrs. D'Ancanto were her birth parents, but either way, I believe they were a happy family before her powers manifested. And Rogue's obviously a bit steamed after seeing Mystique's memories, so she would naturally consider the D'Ancantos to be much better parents than her.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Time to Find Our Friends**

**And here's Chapter Eleven! I'm combining this scene with the one called "Lover's Quarrel", but obviously, the name doesn't fit, so I'm just leaving this chapter's title the way it is. And I'm not gonna write all the scenes with Wolverine, mainly because he got enough focus in the original movies.**

**thewriternextdoo:**

**1\. Thanks! Yeah, her flying the Jet was probably the closest we were gonna get to see her fly on the big screen (unless you wanna be morbid and also include when she was sucked out of the Jet earlier). Although, I didn't really like that she was screaming hysterically. But when she flies the Jet in this version... Let's just say that fear will be the last thing on her mind.**

**2\. Yeah, the love triangle seemed out of nowhere to me. At the time, having only watched one or two seasons of _Evolution_, I wasn't aware of the Shadowcat/Colossus pairing.**

**3\. I do have a reason for Rogue to have moved to another room in the next story, but we'll get to it when we get to it (right now, she's in a room without roommates). Either way, Rogue is much nicer to Kitty in this version than in the original.**

**0001234: Thanks! And no, Rogue doesn't rescue Cyclops...in THIS story. ;) (It would be nice to see in this type of story, but I'm too worried about accidentally turning her into a Mary Sue, which many people don't like)**

**Cellorules: Again, I wish all the chapters could be longer as well. But I'm doing the best that I can!**

**genbo: Yay!**

**Also, a side note: this story's review count surpassed the one for the previous story! I know, it's probably not that big of a deal, but to me, it's a milestone! XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Magneto ripped the door to the control room away and walked in with Storm, Jean, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine. Jean, who was telekinetically holding a pair of soldiers behind them, tossed them away.

"Have you found it?" Magneto asked Mystique.

"A large portion of energy from the dam has been diverted to this chamber," she said. She pulled up a digital map on one of the monitors.

"Cerebro," Storm gasped in disbelief.

"There it is," Magneto muttered.

"Can you you shut it down from here?" asked Storm.

The shape-shifter rolled her eyes. "No."

Magneto gently took her arm. "Come. There's little time."

"Not without us," Jean insisted. Magneto shared a quick pondering look with Mystique.

"Oh, my God." Storm dashed to another monitor. "The children." She turned to Nightcrawler. "Kurt, will you come with me?"

"Yes," he said right away, after watching Mystique closely. Much like his newly found sister, he didn't really want to be around the evil woman after learning the truth. She may be their mother, but she didn't seem to care about them at all. For now, he could only pray for her.

No one noticed Wolverine examine another monitor, which showed Stryker.

"Where are they?" Storm asked.

"They're being held in a cell one level down," said Mystique.

"All right," said Storm, addressing her and Magneto, "we'll get the children and meet you at Cerebro."

Jean nodded. "Okay. I'll try to find Scott and the professor."

Storm looked at her with a bit of worry. "Will you be all right without us?"

The telepath stared at Magneto and Mystique. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

Storm then looked around the chamber. "Where's Logan?"

For Wolverine had, once again, left them, leaving his com link behind.

* * *

Knowing that they couldn't waste time worrying about Wolverine, the X-Men and the Brotherhood had split up. Magneto and Mystique were heading to Stryker's Cerebro, with Jean close behind.

Suddenly, Jean began sensing a presence. It was something very familiar, but somehow very dangerous as well. They passed a corner when Jean saw Cyclops, looking ready to fire at them. Jean quickly pushed Magneto and Mystique to the floor with telekinesis, all of them barely missing the optic blast. While steam poured out of the damaged pipe, Jean shouted, "Go! I'll take care of him!"

The two Brotherhood mutants heeded her words and left.

Jean got up and sent Cyclops flying backwards, but he shot another optic blast, clumsily trying to hit her.

* * *

Storm and Nightcrawler went looking for the cell the students were in.

"Help us! Anybody!" They heard children cry. They ran towards a hatch in the floor and Storm looked through it.

"Jubilee?"

"Storm!" Jubilee called out. She and the rest of the students all begged for them to help.

"Okay, we're coming," said Storm. As soon as she said this, she heard a _bamf!_ behind her.

Nightcrawler had teleported into the cell, to the students' astonishment.

* * *

Jean had lost Cyclops. "Scott?" She cautiously walked around, looking for her dear friend. She reached out, trying to find his presence, and looked behind her. He was standing there, and he fired a huge optic blast at her.

She quickly held up her hands to telekinetically shield herself, but the force was so strong, she was pushed back.

"Scott, don't do this!" she shouted.

But like Nightcrawler in the White House, Cyclops was under mind control. He wasn't about to listen to anyone. He walked closer, still firing the blast. Jean managed to get her footing and closed her eyes. Then she opened them again, a fiery glow in them, and sent the force of the blast back at him, which knocked them both backwards.

Unfortunately, the room they were in was inside the dam, and the damage caused giant cracks to appear. Water slowly began leaking inside the dam.

Cyclops walked up to Jean, who was lying on her back. When she cried out, he quickly said, "Jean, no, no, no! It's okay!" He was free from the mind control. "It's okay, it's me!"

"Scott," she said weakly.

"I'm so sorry!" he gasped, helping her sit up. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"I thought I'd lost you!" Jean cried, holding him close. She hadn't held him this close since they were together.

"I'm so sorry," he couldn't stop apologizing. "I could see you, but I couldn't stop myself. I tried. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she assured him.

They were no longer a couple, but they still cared about each other very much. They couldn't bear the thought of losing each other.

He helped her sit up more.

"Ow!" she cried out in pain. "My leg."

"Easy," he soothed her. Once she was comfortable, he asked her, "Is Marie okay?"

Jean couldn't help but smile at his concern for the southern mutant. "She's in the Jet, waiting for us. She'll be so happy to see that you're okay." When he smiled in relief, she suddenly tensed up. "Scott...something's wrong."

The dam was gonna break soon. They needed to find the others, and the professor, and get out of there!

**And there's Chapter Eleven! Just wanna make sure I'm 100% clear: even though Scott and Jean broke up, they still love each other (as close friends), and care about each other deeply. Got it memorized? (Props to anyone that recognizes this quote)**

**I learned that the explosion from Cyclops and Jean's fight was going to leave her blinded, but that idea was soon abandoned. A couple scenes were filmed like that, though; in the scene when Wolverine shut the dam door to save the X-Men from the flood, Jean was the only one not looking at him (at first). I have a feeling that her injured leg was added in last minute so that Cyclops had a reason to support her as they ran. I wanted to try adding that in, but it didn't really have much of an impact on the story, so I just left it the way it is.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Change of Plans/To Stop Cerebro/The Big Chill**

**And here's Chapter Twelve! Okay, so I'm trying something kinda new. I realized how short this chapter would have been if I didn't do this, so I combined THREE scenes for this chapter! Plus, people keep asking for longer chapters, so I hope this is okay.**

**thewriternextdoo: Thanks! There's actually three chapters after this, only because I felt that the scene in the White House deserved a solo chapter, along with the epilogue. I may post those last two on the same day...**

**genbo: Wow, you had a lot to say! You do raise a good point, in that Rogue shouldn't crash the X-Jet in this version. However, I don't believe that the X-Men are teaching students how to fly it just yet. Rest assured, though: Rogue is able to safely fly it, thanks to her powers. Unfortunately, about the Phoenix thing, I already had a scene written for when Scott finds Jean at the lake, but it's much different than in the original (because I'm keeping him alive). I'm sorry that I won't be changing it to exactly how you want, but don't worry about this story – Rogue won't crash the Jet! (Besides, her 'crashing' the Jet wasn't why Jean sacrificed herself.)**

**Also, since no one acknowledged my little reference in the bottom AN last chapter ('Got it memorized?'), I'll let y'all know that it's from _Kingdom Hearts_, a video game series that I'm currently obsessed with. But worry not! I still have my passion for this story and the next!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

"That's it." John snapped his lighter closed. He went to leave the Jet.

"Whoa," Bobby protested, standing up with Rogue. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm sick of this kid's table shit," said John, grabbing his jacket. "I'm going in there."

"John, they told us to stay here," said Rogue firmly. "Look, I hate it, too. But they said it's too dangerous for us. Do you _want_ to get hurt?"

John sneered at her over his shoulder. "Do you _always_ do as you're told?" Without waiting for an answer, he left.

They stared after him, not making an effort to follow him. Then Rogue looked at the control panel.

"Rogue?" Bobby asked.

"You know, he's right," she said, slowly heading to the panel. "It might be too dangerous, but we can't just keep sitting here. They might need our help!"

"What, you're gonna fly the Jet?" asked Bobby incredulously. "Do you even know how to fly it?"

She just shook her head, smiling mischievously. "No." She pointed to her temple. "But Scott does."

* * *

Cyclops supported Jean as they hurriedly tried to find Stryker's Cerebro. Then she stopped him.

"Cerebro," she whispered, her eyes wide in horror. "We're too late."

They both screamed from the sudden pain in their minds.

* * *

Magneto and Mystique had found the door to Stryker's Cerebro. After dispatching the soldiers guarding it, Magneto made sure his helmet was secure. Beside him, Mystique cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Throughout the dam, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, and the students collapsed as well. John was writhing around in the snow outside, while Bobby and Rogue were sprawled on the floor of the X-Jet.

Stryker had used his son, Jason, to manipulate Xavier into using his Cerebro to find, and kill, all mutants. It was his ultimate revenge plot, blinded by his anger at Jason's illusions driving his wife to suicide.

Magneto, however, was completely safe from the mental attack thanks to his helmet. He looked at Mystique, who was clutching her head.

"Erik, hurry!" she shouted, unconsciously shape-shifting into several people at once.

Magneto immediately faced the door and held up his hands. He managed to stop the attack by reconfiguring the dome of Stryker's Cerebro from the outside. He entered and rearranged the panels. Then Mystique, quickly recovering from the pain, shifted into Stryker and used Jason to manipulate Charles into killing humans instead.

"Goodbye, Charles," said Magneto, before leaving with Mystique.

Then alarms began blaring all over the dam, and water began break through the cracks.

* * *

After recovering from the strange mental attack, Storm, Nightcrawler, and the students quickly found the door to Stryker's Cerebro.

"What is this?" asked Nightcrawler.

"Cerebro," Storm answered.

"Storm!"

They turned to see Cyclops and Jean catching up to them. Storm saw that Jean was limping.

"Jean, are you okay?" she asked right away.

"I'll be fine," Jean assured her, though she grimaced slightly at the pain in her leg.

"What's happening?" Storm then asked, suddenly feeling uneasy as she looked at the door.

Jean used her telepathy to check inside Stryker's Cerebro. "Professor's still in there," she said, "with another mutant. He's trapped in some kind of illusion." Her eyes widened. "Oh, my God. Magneto's reversed Cerebro. It's not targeting mutants anymore."

"Who is it targeting?" Storm demanded urgently.

Jean looked grim. "Everyone else."

* * *

Stryker, whom Wolverine chained to the wheel of his helicopter, managed to free himself before yelling out in pain.

"Impossible!" he grunted before keeling over.

Charles, still in the illusion, was now attacking humans all over the world with Stryker's Cerebro. He needed to be stopped before every human on the planet was wiped out.

* * *

"Everybody stand back," warned Cyclops as he let go of Jean to fire at the door.

"Scott, no!" Jean quickly stopped him. "His mind is connected to Cerebro. Opening the door could kill him and everyone his mind is linked to."

"Wait," said Storm, looking at Nightcrawler. "Kurt, I need you to take me inside."

"Storm, who is this guy?" Cyclops demanded, having just noticed the new face. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kurt Wagner," he began, "but in the Munich circus –"

"He's a teleporter," Storm interrupted, placing a finger on his lips.

He looked at her seriously. "I told you," he said softly, "if I can't see where I'm going..."

She shook her head, staring deeply into his eyes. "I have faith in you." During their private conversation in the X-Jet, Kurt had been astonished that such a beautiful person could have so much anger inside them. Storm believed that anger can help one survive, but he told her that faith can as well.

"Don't believe anything you see in there," Jean warned them.

They understood. As Nightcrawler held Storm tightly to himself, he prayed, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth –"

Storm shut her eyes, listening to his prayer. With a _bamf!_, they teleported inside of Stryker's Cerebro.

"– as it is in heaven," Nightcrawler finished his prayer.

They had made it safely inside. They looked around, seeing panels run down or missing from the wall. Then they saw a young girl in a white nightgown standing where Cerebro and Charles should be.

"Hello," she said, looking curious. "What are you looking for?"

Knowing that this was an illusion, Storm didn't answer her. She looked around the room. "Professor, can you hear me?" she called out. "You've got to stop Cerebro now!"

"Who are you talking to?" the girl asked, amused.

Nightcrawler made a move towards her, but Storm stopped him.

"No, don't move," she whispered.

"But she's just a little girl," he said.

She shook her head. "No, she's not."

The girl smirked. "I've got my eyes on you," she taunted them. They saw that one eye was blue, while the other eye was green.

* * *

When Magneto and Mystique left the dam, they saw that Stryker, just barely hanging on to his life, was loosely chained to his helicopter, thanks to Wolverine.

"Mr. Stryker," said Magneto, kneeling under the helicopter. "Funny, we keep running into each other. Mark my words, it'll never happen again."

And he tightened the chains around his throat.

When they were about to take off in the helicopter, Mystique noticed John standing alone, watching them. After a moment, they let him join them.

John Allerdyce, codename Pyro, was now a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

* * *

Storm looked around Stryker's Cerebro once more before turning to Nightcrawler. "Kurt, it's about to get very cold in here."

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised.

Facing the girl, Storm tilted her head as her eyes began glowing white. Cold wind began swirling around them.

"What are you doing?" the girl demanded.

The winds picked up, causing Nightcrawler to fall to his knees, shivering. Outside of the illusion, Jason was slowly freezing up.

"Stop it!" the girl shrieked.

"Jason..." Xavier whispered. The girl panicked behind him.

"He's going to be so angry at me!" she cried.

The girl in both illusions screamed in pain before fading away. Xavier, realizing what he was doing, quickly yanked off the helmet, ending the attacks on the humans along with the illusions. He turned around to see Storm standing behind Jason, her eyes slowly returning to normal.

* * *

Outside of Stryker's Cerebro, the dam was cracking all over. The walls around Cyclops, Jean, and the students broke down.

"Logan," Jean whispered, trying to find him with her telepathy. "Logan, where are you?"

* * *

Charles wheeled himself around to look at Jason. The panels were falling due to the vibrations of the dam cracking. Soon, debris was falling down on them. Nightcrawler quickly teleported Storm out. Then he came back and teleported back out with Charles, leaving Jason to join his mother.

**And there's Chapter Twelve! Oh boy, next chapter...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Escape/The Only Way**

**And here's Chapter Thirteen! I just had to combine these two scenes. You know what's gonna happen...**

**TieDyeJackson: (This was actually for the last chapter of the previous story) I'm glad you finished it, and I'm happy you like how I did! It is nice to see Wolverine and Cyclops not at each other's throats over Jean for once, isn't it?**

**Cellorules: Thank you for your constructive criticism! It seems that I'm having a hard time conveying all the emotions present in certain scenes. I'll try to do better in the future! As for your other note... Well, there is actually a reason as to why Jean sacrificed herself, refusing the help of the others. And just to remind you, telepathy is the ability to read people's minds/hear their thoughts; what you meant is telekinesis, the ability to move things with one's mind. And it may surprise some people, but Rogue actually HASN'T taken Jean's power. Yet. ;)**

**genbo: Thanks! And yes, go Rogue!**

**Born to be alone: Thanks! Yes, this chapter will be pretty sad, especially with how I altered it.**

**Despite how sad this chapter's gonna be, I hope y'all have a happy Mother's Day! And I'll be posting the last two chapters together next Sunday, which means I'll finally begin posting chapters for _X-Men: The Last Stand (Scogue Version)_ at the end of the month!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Now that they were out of Stryker's Cerebro, they all began running through the halls.

"We have to get out through the spillway!" Storm shouted as she and Nightcrawler ran with Xavier's arms around their shoulders.

When they found another tunnel, Wolverine came running in. Seeing them, he quickly shut the giant doors leading to the tunnel. They all stared at him, and he said, "You don't want to go that way. Trust me."

They backed away as water began spraying through the doors.

"Come on!" Wolverine shouted at them. "There's another way out of here!"

He led them to the door he escaped from all those years ago, to where he left Stryker and the helicopter. As they scrambled out onto a snowy hill, Artie Maddicks slipped. Wolverine quickly picked him up and carried him to the rest of the group. He stood in front of them, only to see more snow.

"The helicopter was right here!" he shouted.

Just when everything looked more and more bleak, they all heard a familiar rumbling. They looked up to see the X-Jet flying towards them.

Inside the Jet, Rogue was screaming, not in fear, but in joy. Even though she was relatively new at flying the Jet, with Scott's psyche guiding her, she was having the time of her life.

"This is FUN!" she yelled out.

Bobby, holding onto a seat, almost looked concerned for her sanity. When she landed the Jet surprisingly gently, she let out an exhilarated laugh.

"Okay, I know you had fun," he said shakily, "but we need to get serious now."

Quickly sobering up, she nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."

Nodding back, Bobby got up and left the Jet to help the others inside.

Rogue then heard a _bamf!_, and turned to see Nightcrawler placing Xavier onto a seat.

"Kurt!" She got up and hugged him, to his surprise. "Are you all right?"

Hugging her back, he said, "I'm fine, _Schwester_."

They pulled back and smiled at each other. Even though their mother happened to be one of the most evil mutants in the world, they were glad to have found each other.

Rogue then helped everyone else in. When Storm entered, she asked her, "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Rogue almost giddily. "It was fun!"

Storm smiled weakly. "I'm glad you're okay."

Then Cyclops and Jean entered the Jet.

"Scott!" Rogue exclaimed.

"Rogue," Cyclops breathed, relieved to see that she was okay. He looked at Jean, who assured him that she would be fine, before running to her and throwing his arms around her. "Are you all right, angel?" he asked softly.

This confused the students. But neither Rogue nor Cyclops cared about their secret anymore; they were just relieved to have each other back.

"Yeah," she assured him, kissing his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise," he whispered.

She gave a small chuckle. "You promised that you would come back to me. And you did, just later than sooner, but you did."

While they had their reunion, Jean realized that Wolverine had yet to join them. As Cyclops and Storm prepared the Jet for take off, Charles said gravely, "Scott, we've got to get to Washington. I fear this has gone beyond Alkali Lake."

After too many worrying minutes, Wolverine finally appeared with Artie. He had found Stryker chained to the outer wall of the dam and left him to die, along with his dog tag. He handed the boy to Bobby before running to Jean.

"You okay?" she asked at once. She caught a glimpse of Stryker yelling after Wolverine in his mind, but chose not to mention it, in case he didn't want to talk about it.

He sighed. "I am now," was all he said before giving her a kiss.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, staring into his eyes.

He could tell that she saw into his mind a little. He only nodded. He briefly stroked her face before heading to the front of the Jet. "What's wrong?"

"Vertical thrusters are off-line," said Cyclops.

"So fix 'em," said Wolverine impatiently.

"I'm trying," Cyclops snapped.

"Oh no, I didn't wreck it, did I?" Rogue asked worriedly from her seat behind Storm. "I thought I landed it fine."

"No, you didn't damage it," Cyclops assured her. "I don't know why, but it's just not cooperating –"

"Wait, has anyone seen John?" Rogue interrupted, suddenly remembering John's departure and seeing that he didn't return.

"Pyro?" Wolverine called out. He didn't get a response. "Where the hell is he?"

Jean had a sad, disappointed look on her face. "He's with Magneto."

Wolverine, Rogue, and Bobby all shared a commiserating glance.

"They're functioning," Storm was telling Cyclops, "but I don't know how long they're going to last."

"I'm trying to override," Cyclops replied to her. "It's not responding." He let out a frustrated yell.

"Oh, no," Storm gasped, "we've lost the power."

Behind the Jet, the dam had fully busted open, and water was flowing out.

While the others were either panicking or trying to get the Jet to work, Jean had a sudden realization. Remembering what happened at the museum, and her little moment in the Jet with Storm, she quickly realized that maybe she's responsible for the Jet failing, due to her powers growing more and more out of her control. But something was telling her that she could use this power to get the Jet out of the way of the incoming flood. She looked at everyone sadly, from Wolverine to Rogue and Cyclops, making her decision and knowing what the end result would be. But she also knew that this decision would protect them; whatever yielded this power within her was dangerous, and could hurt or even kill the ones she loved. It was better this way. Silently wishing them goodbye, she quietly exited the Jet. She limped a few feet in front of it.

Charles was the only one to notice her leave. "Jean?"

Hearing him, Wolverine looked around. "Wait, where's Jean?"

"She's outside," said Xavier, looking distant.

"What?" Rogue gasped. She also had telepathy, how could she have missed her leaving?

Immediately, Cyclops got out of his seat and ran for the hatch, but Jean just telekinetically closed it. Then she mentally turned the engines on. Now that she distanced herself from the Jet, the engines would work fine.

"No, we're not leaving!" Cyclops shouted hysterically. "Lower the ramp!"

But before Storm could try to lower the ramp, she watched the handles move by themselves. "I can't!"

With a telekinetic hold on the X-Jet, Jean held her other hand towards the flood, parting it around herself and the Jet. She began lifting the Jet into the air.

"She's controlling the Jet!" Storm cried.

She, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler watched Jean through the windshield. Charles looked to his left and saw Rogue closing her eyes tightly.

"You, get her, now!" Wolverine ordered Nightcrawler.

He tried to teleport out, but he didn't leave. "She's not letting me!" he exclaimed.

As they watched her in horror, they heard someone else speak.

"I know what I'm doing." Everyone turned to Rogue, whose eyes were still closed. "This is the only way."

They all knew who was really telling them that.

Wolverine stared at her in disbelief, and Cyclops immediately ran to kneel before her. "Jean, listen to me," he begged, his voice breaking. "Don't do this! I can't lose you!"

They had been through so much together, faced many battles. Though his heart now belonged to Rogue, he still felt love for Jean, his best friend. He couldn't lose her, not like this...

Rogue's lips curled into a smile. "You have _her_, Scott," Jean whispered through her. "Goodbye."

"Oh, no! No!" Wolverine yelled, turning around to look at Jean through the windshield. He had half a mind to attempt to slice through the windshield, pick her up, and jump back into the Jet. She didn't have to do this!

When Cyclops ran back to look through the windshield as well, Rogue's eyes snapped open. Tearing up, she turned to the professor, who only nodded sadly.

What did Jean mean, this was the only way? Why couldn't she let them help her? Tears streaming down her face, Rogue weakly tried to connect with her again, but to no avail. She unbuckled her seat belt and stood beside Cyclops to watch Jean.

With the X-Jet hovering in the air, the X-Men could just barely see unworldly flames surround her body and her eyes flashing with similar flames. Behind them, Charles closed his eyes, knowing what was going to happen. Jean then closed her eyes as well, letting her arms fall to her sides, and the water came crashing down around her.

Everyone was silent.

"She's gone," Wolverine murmured, feeling his whole world stop. "She's gone."

Cyclops couldn't bring himself to speak, and his body was shaking. Rogue quickly turned to hug him, and he cried into her shoulder. She broke down sobbing as well.

The mutants couldn't believe what had happened. Jean Grey, their sweet doctor, their most trusted friend and motherly figure, sacrificed herself to save them from the flood.

Wolverine tried so hard not to cry, but he couldn't help the tears that escaped. He had just witnessed the love of his life leave the face of the Earth. And to think, they had talked about going on their first date last night...

"She's gone..."

As Storm reluctantly flew the Jet away, Nightcrawler whispered a new prayer.

"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

**And there's Chapter Thirteen. How do you feel about me having Jean speak through Rogue instead of Charles? I was inspired by the _X-Men: Evolution_ episode _Power Surge_, when Jean spoke blindly through Rogue, calling for Scott. I thought that doing something like that would make it more emotional for the both of them.**

**On the other hand, some believe that Jean sacrificing herself was NOT the only way to get them away from the flood. Even Doug Walker had something to say about it in his _X2_ Nostalgia Critic video:**

**NC: Iceman couldn't have frozen the water?**

**Jean: This is the only way.**

**NC: Storm couldn't have _stopped_ the water?**

**Jean: This is the only way.**

**NC: Xavier couldn't have lifted the plane from inside?**

**Jean: This is the only way.**

**NC: _SHE_ couldn't have lifted the plane from inside?!**

**Jean: This is the only way.**

**Apparently, in the novelization and/or the original script, she DID lift the plane (Jet) from the inside; the former's case was 'cause they didn't want to spoil the actual ending. But nah, there's no other way to foreshadow the Phoenix saga than by killing her off but not for real. Yeah, I know, neither Iceman nor Storm realistically couldn't have stopped the flood for various reasons, and Xavier wouldn't be able to lift the Jet because he doesn't have telekinesis, but this was still pretty funny.**

**Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering why this movie featured flames to demonstrate the power of the Phoenix, but _The Last Stand_ didn't, instead putting more focus on her mental capabilities.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: The President's Opportunity**

**And here's Chapter Fourteen. Though the X-Men lost one of their own, they still strive to bring peace between mutants and humans. In this day and age, we humans need to work together for a better future as well, one with less fear and hate.**

**You can consider this a filler chapter if you'd like, if you want to skip right to the next.**

**Review responses will be in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

In the White House, the President of United States made his way to the Oval Office to make his televised speech to the world.

"Today I've been given an opportunity to shed light on recent occurrences from the attack that ended in this office to the unexplained phenomenon that swept the Earth – nearly annihilating our way of life."

Entering the office, he greeted the journalists and camera crew as he sat at his desk. When the camera was rolling, he began his speech.

"My fellow Americans, in this time of adversity, we are being offered a moment, a moment to recognize a growing threat within our own population, and take a unique role in the shape of human events."

Suddenly, there was static, and the TelePrompTer flickered off, along with the lights.

"Did we just lose the feed? Are we still live?" Then he noticed that everyone in the room was completely still. He could faintly hear wind pick up outside the windows, and turned to see the sky darkening. Thunder began rumbling, and rain was pouring down. He turned to face the journalists and nearly jumped out of his seat.

There were seven new people in the Oval Office, many of them wearing leather uniforms. The white-haired woman that stood beside the TelePrompTer was smirking, her eyes glowing white.

"Good morning, Mr. President," the bald man in the wheelchair greeted politely. He was seated between a young woman with brown hair in a ponytail with her white bangs framing her face, and a man with a visor over his eyes.

The president then saw, with a jolt of fear, the devil-looking assassin wave a two-fingered hand from his perch on the fireplace mantle. He stood up.

"Please, don't be alarmed," said the man in the wheelchair gently. "We're not going to harm anyone."

"Who are you people?" the president demanded. They all stepped forward.

"We're mutants. My name is Charles Xavier. Please, sit down."

But the president didn't budge. "I'd rather stand."

Charles Xavier turned to the two-toned haired woman. "Rogue."

She wordlessly placed some files on the president's desk. Then she stepped back beside the man with the visor.

"These files were taken from the private offices of William Stryker," Xavier explained.

The president carefully examined the files. He frowned suspiciously. "How did you get this?"

"Well," Xavier smirked, "let's just say I know a little girl who can walk through walls."

The devil-looking mutant snickered. The president glared at him before looking back at the files, sitting in his chair. "I've never seen this information."

"I know," said Xavier calmly.

"Then you also know I don't respond well to threats," the president continued rather harshly.

"Mr. President, this is not a threat. This is an opportunity. There are forces in this world, both mutant and human alike, who believe that a war is coming. You will see from those files that some have already tried to start one, and there have been casualties. Losses on both sides."

The president noticed the man with the visor shake, like he wanted to cry. He watched the woman, Rogue, turn her head slightly and reach out to take his hand. He also saw another man with sideburns, this one more dangerous looking, look at them before turning his attention back to him.

"Mr. President," said Xavier, wheeling himself closer, "what you were about to tell the world is true – this is a moment. A moment to repeat the mistakes of the past, or to work together for a better future. We're here to stay, Mr. President. The next move is yours."

"We'll be watching," the man with the sideburns promised.

Thunder began clapping again as the president fixed stares with him, the woman with white eyes, the assassin, the man with the visor, the two-toned haired woman named Rogue, the teenage boy, and Charles Xavier. As the sun began shining again, the mutants had gone, the lights came back on, and everyone else in the room unfroze.

**And there's Chapter Fourteen! I love how Rogue was standing beside Cyclops in the movie. It's like Singer was unintentionally teasing us Scogue shippers!**

**Remember when I said that the novelization had a different ending than the movie? Well, they filmed this scene with Famke Janssen (Jean Grey) present as well. I found a blooper of this scene in which Janssen entered the set and stood between Anna Paquin (Rogue) and James Marsden (Cyclops), apologizing for being late. What a way to lighten the mood, am I right? And Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) said he saved her a spot beside him, but Janssen just said, "Oh, okay. Well, I'd like to be with my fiancé." And the whole time, Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) and Halle Berry (Storm) were trying not to laugh. I even faintly heard Sir Patrick Stewart (Xavier) say, "Mr. President, she's not really here."**

**All in all, I thought this was cute.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Left Behind/Evolution Leaps Forward**

**And here's Chapter Fifteen, the final chapter! I posted this along with the previous chapter, which was about the X-Men's intervention at the White House. Though there wasn't much to change about it, I felt that it was important to post anyway. I'm not sure if anyone is actually interested in that scene, but it's there anyway.**

**genbo: Thank you so much!**

**thewriternextdoo: Thinking about it, the movies didn't seem to want to focus on how characters feel about other characters unless it's a love triangle or between enemies. It's like friendship didn't exist for the X-Men. Even if Bobby wasn't strong enough, it'd be nice to see him at least try; would have added more tension to the situation. I came across the idea that Jean sacrificed herself to save the others from the Phoenix on the TV Tropes website. I'm not sure if that's how Bryan Singer intended for it to be, but I just went with it because it sounded plausible.**

**0001234: Haha, I'm glad you found that bit funny! I had a goofy smile as I wrote it; I thought of Kitty driving for the first time in _X-Men: Evolution_, and Logan was freaking the hell out. I'm happy you like my choice to have Jean speak through Rogue instead of the professor. :)**

**ARey77: Thanks! It seems that the Rogue and Charles swap (regarding who Jean spoke through) was a hit! I hadn't really thought of writing Rogue dealing with Logan or Magneto's memories in the next story, mostly because I figured she'd have found a way to deal with repressed memories of people she drained between this movie and the next (at least in my version). As I said before, I never read the comics, so I'm not quite familiar with these types of plots. But speaking of Magneto, Rogue is definitely gonna get him back for what he did to her in the first movie. That'll be something to look forward to, at least.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _X-Men_.**

* * *

Charles Xavier sat in his office with Logan and Scott, the latter staring solemnly out the window.

"You know, even when Jean was a student," Professor Xavier said softly, "she was always hesitant about her powers. Always looking to others." Logan looked up at him. "Feeling that in some way she was left behind."

Scott sighed. He was emotionally exhausted from all the tears he'd shed. "Do you think – could we have done more to save her?"

Professor Xavier thought about it. "In the past, she may have let us."

"There had to be another way," said Logan quietly. He almost looked angry with himself. "Why did she leave the plane?"

The professor stared at him. "Because she made a choice."

_A choice to protect us,_ he thought.

There was knocking on the door.

"Yes, come on in," Professor Xavier called out.

The doors opened, revealing Piotr, Jubilee, and other students. As they filed in, Scott and Logan left. When Scott walked out, he saw Rogue standing there. Neither of them said anything, nor did they need to. She placed her arms around him in a hug, and he immediately responded. Over his shoulder, Rogue shared a sad glance with Logan. Breaking the hug, she and Scott walked away, hand in gloved hand.

Logan watched them walk away. _At least he has her,_ he thought, his heart aching for Jean once more.

Back in Xavier's office, the students all sat down in their chairs, waiting for the lesson to start. The professor looked out the window, thinking...

"Professor?" Jubilee's voice broke him out of his daze. "Is everything all right?"

He turned to face his class, a smile on his face. "Yes, I think it will be."

Then he began telling them about a book called _The Once and Future King_ by the English novelist, T.H. White.

* * *

"Mutation. It is the key to our evolution. It is how we have evolved from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward."

\- Dr. Jean Grey

**And there's the final chapter! Rest in peace, Jean Grey...or will she?**

**_The Last Stand_ is up next, and the final _X-Men_ film I'm including in this AU. As you can no doubt guess, I'm not having Rogue take the cure, nor am I killing off Scott (as I said in Chapter Twelve). I'm actually going to have them partake in the final battle! But will Rogue gain full control of her powers?**

**Time will tell...**

**Also, I sadly won't be adding Nightcrawler in _The Last Stand_, because again, I'm not creative enough to think of how useful he'd be. Story-wise, a possible reason why he's not with the X-Men is because he couldn't handle their violent lifestyle, due to his peaceful nature. Well, we can all just assume that he's back in Germany, and maybe after _The Last Stand_, Rogue can reach out to him to further develop their family relationship.**


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